Last Action Hedgehog
by R0cknR011
Summary: Tails is given a magic gold chaos emerald that he finds out is a ticket to another world, as it takes him into a movie he's watching. But he soon finds that the power of the emerald can be used for bad. COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes**:

-As the summary explains, this is a Sonic-style do-over the the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Last Action Hero." What I've done is replaced the original characters as best I could with the Sonic characters. Also, some scenes from the movie have been altered or out-right removed. This was to either enhance a certain scene or simply because I thought the story would be better without it. But rest assured the major events still occur so the story of the movie is not changed. Lastly, in SOME circumstances, some characters may act out of character (OOC) due to the fact that they are acting similar to how they would in the movie. HOWEVER, I did try to incorporate their original personalities as much as possible to retain a Sonic-esque feel to the story.

- All Sonic characters and related themes belong to Sega. The Movie "Last Action Hero" and all related themes belong to Columbia Pictures and all who made the movie possible. Finally, all products, company names, insignias, trademarks, and songs belong to their respective owners. Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended and I do not own any of the above mentioned in this story. It is purely for the personal enjoyment of fans of the Sonic and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

- Rated T for language, violence, and blood

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**Cast**:

Sonic the Hedgehog – Jack Slater / Himself

Miles "Tails" Prower – Danny Madigan

Knuckles the Echidna – Lieutenant Dekker

Dr. Robotnik – Mr. Benedict

Vector the Crocodile – Tony Vivaldi

Espio the Chameleon – John Practice

Chuck Thorndyke – Nick (From Sonic X Anime)

Silver the Hedgehog – Frank (From Sonic Next Gen. 2006)

Rosemary Prower – Irene Madigan (From Archie Comic Series)

Shadow the Hedgehog – The Ripper

Sonia the Hedgehog - Whitney (From Sonic Underground Cartoon Series)

Charmy the Bee - Skeezy

Mr. Tanaka – Asian Assistant (From Sonic X Anime)

Big the Cat – Whiskers

Mach - Andy / Andrew (OC)

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**Chapter 1** – Enter the Hero 

Hundreds of cop cars and GUN special-forces vehicles had surrounded an elementary school. The officers were all headed towards or aiming their guns at the building. Helicopters were circling overhead, and searchlights were illuminating the building like it was noontime.

In the middle of this chaotic crowd, a large, red echidna in a gray suit and police badge stood by his car. He was commanding all the forces in the area. He had a tired and irritated look on his face. A radio the echidna had been using suddenly spoke the words he didn't want to hear.

"Lieutenant Knuckles, it's confirmed, it is Shadow. I repeat, the suspect IS Shadow the Hedgehog."

The echidna winced at hearing this.

"Shit……. This is one HELL of a way to spend Christmas," Knuckles moaned. "MAAAAAACKEEEEEENZYYYYYY!"

"Yes sir!" an officer shouted.

"Secure the sidewalks! I don't want anybody IN or OUT of here!"

The words had barely finished leaving Knuckles' mouth when shots from a machine gun rang out. Everyone hit the deck, as the bullets turned the cop cars into Swiss cheese. When the bullets finally ceased, nothing but slight radio chatter could be heard. Slowly, Knuckles peaked over the top of his car. A machine gun was thrown down from the roof of the school and landed on the ground. Then a sinister voice could be heard yelling from up above.

"I got a present for ya…… BASTARDS!"

Suddenly, the body of a GUN special-forces officer fell from the roof and plummeted to the ground. A horrible sound of bones breaking could be heard as the body slammed into the ground. Knuckles became infuriated by the sight before him.

"DAMN YOU! Let the children go! Damn you Shadow let the children GO!"

Knuckles suddenly heard the sound of metal being slammed, like somebody was jumping on the roofs of the cars around him. As is got closer and closer he looked around to see who or what it was. Then, the noise stopped right behind him. He looked up to see the one thing worse that Shadow holding school children hostage.

A blue hedgehog stood on the roof of a cop car. He had on a light brown leather jacket, a red T-Shirt, worn blue jeans, a thick leather belt with a large buckle displaying a handgun symbol, and his famous red sneakers. He nonchalantly put the cigar he was smoking out on the roof of the car and looked up at the school. There stood Sonic the Hedgehog, the most fearsome, reckless, and law-breaking officer ever Station Square had ever known.

Knuckles stared back, breathing heavily. His face then contorted into a scowl.

"SOOOOOONIIIIIIC!" the echidna shrieked angrily.

**A/N** - I know this is short, but it's only the prologue. The chapters will be longer.


	2. A Way to Make an Entrance

**Chapter 2** – A Way to Make an Entrance

Sonic didn't even flinch at Knuckles' voice. He calmly started walking towards the school. Knuckles quickly stormed up to Sonic.

"Don't even freakin' think about it Sonic! You gonna wait for the REAL hostage negotiator to show up, you hear me!?"

Sonic didn't pay a bit of attention. He just kept walking, not even looking at Knuckles.

"Dammit Sonic, I'm talking to you! The last time you pulled this action hero shit, people lost body parts!"

Sonic kept walking.

"That's it! You go in there, and it's your badge!"

Sonic chucked his badge over his shoulder to Knuckles, still never looking at him. As he got closer to the school, a woman confronted Sonic.

"Sonic, I know as the mayor of Los Angeles we've had out little tiffs, but I've got the Lieutenant Governor here!"

The Lieutenant Governor stepped forward.

"Sonic, listen, what I propose to do is – "

Sonic spin dashed him, sending him flying through the air and onto the hood of a cop car.

"When the GOVERNOR gets here, call me," Sonic retorted.

The mayor rushed over to check on the unconscious Lieutenant Governor, Knuckles rushed up and saw what had happened. With a snarl, Knuckles took out his radio.

"Attention, Sonic is attempting to enter the building! Do **_NOT_** let him in! I repeat, **_DO NOT LET HIM IN_**!" the echidna howled through clenched teeth, making it next to impossible to understand him.

An officer crouched by the door of the school heard the transmission and responded.

"Piece of cake, man!"

The officer spun around to see a pair of red sneakers in front of him. The officer looked fearfully up into Sonic's face.

"Hey, do you want to be a farmer? Cause here's a couple of "_achers_".

Sonic then kicked the officer in the face, sending him flying back about 5 feet. He then caught the cop's radio out of the air.

"Hey Knuckles, you try that again, and I'll REALLY hurt the next one," Sonic said with a bit of a humorous note in his voice.

"Dammit, Sonic, don't go in there! If you do, I'll – "

The rest of the transmission was cut off as Sonic crushed the radio with his hand. He then reached down to his beltline and picked up his giant, ¾ foot long, .50 caliber Desert Eagle handgun, cocked it, and walked inside the school.

"Attention," Knuckles said into his radio, "Sonic the Hedgehog has entered the building. I say again, Sonic the Hedgehog is in the building!"

The screams of children could now be heard coming from the roof. Knuckles looked at the school in a look of terror in his eyes.


	3. Sonic vs Shadow

**Chapter 3** – Sonic vs. Shadow

Up above, Sonic did a spin dash attack and broke down the door leading to the roof. Walking out onto the roof, there stood Shadow, his back facing him.

"Sonic……. What kept you?"

Shadow turned around. In the grasp of his left hand was a young, blue hedgehog in a gray sweater and jeans.

"DAD!" cried the little hedgehog.

Sonic only stared straight-faced. He slowly looked up at Shadow. The black and red hedgehog stood there smiling evilly. He was wearing a black trench coat, a chain-mail vest, black undershirt, and was holding the black chaos emerald tightly in his right hand.

"Little Mach here has been getting nervous. I promised him you'd come, though. I even gave him my word of honor he could watch me kill you, Sonic," Shadow remarked, looking at the sky. Then his blood-red eyes drifted down to Sonic. "Lose the hand-cannon."

Sonic looked back down at the little hedgehog.

"Has he hurt you, Mach?"

Mach shook his head, tears in his eyes.

"Hurt Sonic? Did you say HURT? What the HELL would you know about being hurt, Sonic? You had me put in jail for TEN years. THAT'S hurt."

"You should have been given the death penalty for all the crimes you've committed."

Sonic quickly took a look around the roof, seeing a small group of kids off to the left. But Shadow caught his attention.

"Yeah, woulda, shoulda, coulda, yeah, yeah, yeah, right! I had bugs crawling around in my quills, and guys trying to screw me when I woke up. D'you know what THAT'S like Sonic?"

Shadow began to back up as sonic slowly approached.

"It was **_YOUR_** illegal search, Sonic, that rendered the bloody chaos emerald inadmissible as evidence against me, and gave me a lighter sentence. It's **_YOUR_** fault that I'm out of jail Sonic. Now lose the gun!"

Shadow reached the ledge around the edge of the building. He quickly tightened his grip on Andrew. Sonic stopped moving forward, but he still kept his eyes on Shadow, who gave him a sinister glare. Slowly, Sonic bent down and dropped his Desert Eagle, which landed with a loud thud.

"Alright, Shadow. I'm unarmed. Now let the boy go."

"Just ONE gun Sonic? You gotta be kidding me!" Shadow said, laughing a bit.

Sonic had hoped Shadow wouldn't say this. With a bit of hesitation, he slowly began to remove all of his weapons. A knife from each sleeve, a gun from each of his two hip holsters, a gun from each of his two chest holsters, a gun from the back of his pants, and two small guns from a clip on each boot.

"Is that all?" Shadow said in a bored voice.

"Yup."

"Good. Now step back."

Sonic slowly started to move backwards.

"Oh……. Shadow…… I almost forgot about this."

Sonic pulled a grenade out of his Jacket pocket. He quickly pulled the pin, releasing the safety clasp. He then threw it to Shadow's feet. The kids on the roof let out whimpers of fear. Shadow only laughed.

"Brilliant Sonic. _BRILLIANT_. I surrender," Shadow said sarcastically.

"That's a live grenade, Shadow."

"Yeah, sure Sonic! Your really gonna blow the shit outta your only son so you can get me. That's very flattering Sonic, but I don't buy it."

Shadow let go of Mach.

"Mach, pick up that grenade. Then show it to me."

The little hedgehog slowly bent down and picked up the grenade. He held it out so Shadow could see it, who chuckled when he saw it. He then looked to Sonic.

"Sonic…… that toy…… can't hurt anybody. But THIS one can," he said, holding up his chaos emerald.

Sonic glanced down at his son. Mach nodded slightly, as he'd seen this grenade before. He pushed a secret button on the top of the grenade, and a knife blade shot out of the bottom. Mach quickly drove the knife into Shadow's chest.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" howled Shadow, as he quickly pulled the blade out of him, blood starting to pour down his chest.

When Shadow looked up, he saw Sonic making a dive for his weapons. He shot a chaos spear at Sonic. At the last second, Sonic saw the spear coming. He flipped over while in the air and laid out flat. The spear passed within an inch of Sonic's body. When he landed, Sonic immediately picked up his Desert Eagle and pointed it straight at Shadow. All the kids began to cry in fear. Sonic pulled the trigger.

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**A/N** - Pretty exciting beginning, huh? But what happened? Keep reading to find out. And please, rate and review! I cannot stress this enough!


	4. The Real World

**Chapter 4** – The Real World

Everything went blurry. The sound was muffled. It became impossible to tell what was going on.

"Oh come on! Focus!"

The voice came from a small, yellow-orange, twin-tailed fox.

"COME ON! FOCUS!"

"HEY! Some people are trying to sleep here ya know!"

The second voice came from a homeless person somewhere behind the fox.

"Yeah, right. Whatever," the fox growled under his breath as he stood up.

The fox got up out of his seat. He was wearing his favorite black jacket with white sleeves, a flannel hoody underneath his jacket, black jeans, and his usual red and white sneakers. He was in one of the oldest and most dilapidated theaters in all of Station Square. The kitsune walked up the pathway and exited the theater. He then approached the snack counter outside theater room. The attendant there was asleep.

"Excuse me, the film is out of focus."

The attendant still slept.

"_**EXCUSE**_ me, the **_FILM_** is **_OUT_** of **_FOCUS_**."

He attendant woke up and looked at Tails with sleepy eyes.

"The film is out of – "

The attendant fell back to sleep.

"Dammit!" Tails said.

The kitsune made his way for a staircase.

"CHUUUUUUUUCK!"

The empty theater echoed the fox's voice as he walked up the stairs. Spray paint and graffiti was everywhere. The ceiling had holes in it, and the floor boards creaked like bull frogs. Trash and debris lined the steps and floors in huge piles.

"CHUUUUUUCK!" the fox shouted again. He had finally reached a door with a barely legible sign that read "Projector Room."

"Chuck?" he said, knocking gently on the door.

He got no answer. Slowly, he opened the door. Inside the room, several large projectors stood pointing through cut-outs in the walls. There were several rows of dusty reel-to-reel films in the back of the room. The walls were covered with several old, dusty posters of actors and shows from previous shows at the theater. And in the corner was Chuck, sleeping in a recliner chair. He was a mid to upper-aged man, with gray hair that covered his head. He was snoring a bit, with a newspaper still held in his hands.

"Chuck, are you okay?"

This time, Chuck heard him and woke up.

"Tails……what's wrong," Chuck asked in a groggy voice.

"The film is going nuts."

Chuck sat straight up at hearing this.

"WHAT!? Oh...dammit!"

Chuck quickly made his way over the one projector that was running the film. He began furiously adjusting several knobs and switches, trying to fix the picture. Tails cam over too, and after making a few adjustments himself, the picture and sound returned to normal. Chuck slowly returned to his chair. As he sat down, he adjusted his favorite white coat to be more comfortable. His face and brown eyes revealed again, but he still looked pretty well. But Chuck had a depressed expression on his face right now.

"Just when I thought these I got these projectors working right again, this happens."

Chuck looked at the old projectors in a sad way.

"It's alright, Chuck. I've seen "Sonic III" six times already. I was just worried about you, that's all."

Chuck looked back at Tails and smiled.

"You know Tails, the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie comes out Saturday. Tomorrow actually."

Tails suddenly got excited. His eyes lit up, and his tails began to wave up and down.

"You think I **_DIDN'T_** know that?" Tails altered his voice to sound like a movie announcer. "They killed his favorite second cousin… and now they are after him… but what they don't know is that they just made a mistake… a _**BIG MISTAKE**_…"

Tails jumped into the air.

"BLAAAM!" he shouted, throwing out his legs and arms. "Sonic the Hedgehog IV!"

Chuck laughed at seeing Tails' excitement. Then, an idea came to him.

"Ya know Tails, tonight I have to test out the movie reel for the new movie. Just by myself. All alone… **_BUT_**… I think I could… arrange for… a special admittance for you… that is if that kinda thing interests you."

Tails' eyes practically popped out of his head and he hovered a few inches up into the air.

"You mean see it **_BEFORE_** it opens!?"

"That's right Tails."

"Who do I have to kill to see it!?"

"Heh… Nobody. But what you **_DO_** have to do is get to school. You know, if you hurry, you'll only be about **_FOUR_** hours late."

Tails nodded with a huge smile and quickly ran back down the stairs to the front door. Before he went through it, he looked at a display poster for "Sonic the Hedgehog IV." It featured a picture of Sonic on it, holding his trademark Desert Eagle and a wad of dynamite. But Tails was looking at the person next to him. It was Sonia, the pink hedgehog Tails had always had a crush on. She was playing Sonic's sister in real life as well as in the new movie. He smirked at her picture, blew a kiss at her, and stepped out of the theater.

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**A/N** - Bet you didn't expect this chapter to go like this, huh? Keep reading, it will only get better.


	5. School Days

**Chapter 5** – School Days

As soon as Tails stepped out of the theater, he noticed it was pouring rain outside.

"Crap…" he moaned.

As quickly as he could, the two-tails fox hurried down the wet sidewalk to the nearest bus stop. About 20 minutes later, he arrived at his school. It was now raining even harder than before. With a mad dash, Tails went through the entrance to the school. He got a late slip from the front desk, then slowly made his way to class, which, by this time of day, would be his LAST class of the day.

Finally, he made it to his class, where he caught the tail end of a description of what was going on.

"Now class, I'm going to show you a clip of the film "Hamlet," which we all know was written by William Shakespeare. Now, though it may not seem so, Hamlet is considered the first "action hero" in literature. Compile that with the conspiracy, treachery, sex, sword fights, ghost, and murders of this story, and you will find Hamlet could not be a more exciting!"

The teacher hit the light switch and started up a projector. ON screen, the character "King Klaudius" was making a long speech about how he too felt guilty about to repent for murdering the previous kind so he could take the crown. Shortly after, the character "Prince Hamlet" entered. He then made an even longer speech about whether he should kill Klaudius now or later.

Tails' eyes already began to droop. He was bored out of his mind.

"_First action hero my ass! Stop talking and just kill him" _Tails thought to himself. _"Man school is boring. I really hate this place. I wish it was more like the movies."_

Tails' young mind began to wonder. As he watched the film, Hamlet took the appearance of Sonic. He pictured him throwing Klaudius out of a window, blowing away guards with machine guns, and causing complete destruction of the castle. Then he pictured Sonic standing outside of the castle, lighting a cigar, and saying the most famous line of Hamlet his way.

"To be…or not to be…… NOT to be."

With that, the entire castle blew up behind Sonic. The kits' excitement peaked as he imagined this.

"_Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!_" he thought. _"Man, just ONCE I'd love to be able to do that. This city, and whole world, sucks so much. Just ONCE I want an adventure!"_

Suddenly, the dismissal bell rang, snapping Tails out of his day dream. He got up and left the school as fast as he could. He just wanted to get away from it. He had never liked school, and that went especially for these days. Ever since "the change," he'd ever really appreciated much anymore. All that meant anything to him was the movies.

**A/N** - This chapter is short, I'm aware. It was more or less a bit of a filler chapter and it develops Tails' character. I PROMISE the chapters coming up will be longer. And as always, rate and review! I really need to know how I'm doing so I can improve future chapters.


	6. A Bad Night

**Chapter 6** – A Bad Night

Later that night, Tails sat in his room, watching cartoons on his small television in his room. The phone started ringing. A chill ran through Tails' body upon hearing it. Somehow he just knew that it was his school calling to say he hadn't arrived on time. He then heard his mother answer it.

"Hello?... Yes, this is she. Yes… Miles?... No, he wasn't… NO, HE WASN'T, I'm sorry. I should have spoken up. The poor dear was feeling ill, but he insisted in coming in late to get missed work… O.K., thank you for calling. Good night." The phone clicked back down in its base. "Miles, I'd like to speak with you."

_"Dammit," _the kit thought. He knew he'd been busted.

With a slow pace, Tails meandered his way into his mother's room. There stood Rosemary Prower, his mother. She was similar in appearance to Tails. She had the same color fur as Tails with the same color eyes. The only major differences was her long, brown hair on her head and the fact that she had only one tail, not two. As Tails entered her room, he found her with a rather emotionless expression on her face.

"Miles… enlighten me about the story of your life, starting at 8:30 A.M. this morning, during your first period history class. THINK before you answer. I better hear something along the lines of you class to donate some blood and a kidney to the Red Cross."

The little fox looked right into his mother's stare. His face couldn't reveal any more guilt is he tried. He therefore stayed silent. Rosemary leaned over to him, so that her face was level with his.

"You were at the movies again, _**weren't** you_ Miles. You were hanging out with that crazy old man-"

A nerve was tickled within the kit's mind with that comment, and he blurted out a response before he could even think.

"Chuck's NOT crazy!"

"OH DAMMIT, MILES!"

Tails sat back, a little shocked at his mother's reaction. His mother grabbed her hair and threw it back in frustration.

"You know, I just lied to the principal that you were late today because you were sick! I LIED! ME! A member of the Station Square P.T.A.! And what the hell for!? So you can go to the _**movies**_!?"

"I'm sorry…" The words left Tails' mouth in a low, depressed tone. Rosemary quickly calmed down at hearing this. She knew what was on her son's mind.

"Look Miles… I know your upset about all the changes we've gone through. Do you really think I wanted to be stuck in this sardine-can-of-an-apartment in a bad neighborhood with low pay?"

Tails looked mournfully at his mother. She could tell he was not a happy youth. She comfortingly placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him with the sympathy of a caring parent.

"I didn't choose this, Miles. I didn't choose this at all. I didn't just wake up one morning and say "Hey, what the hell, let me try being a widow before I'm forty and make my child's life miserable," O.K.?"

"I know that mom…"

Tears began to well up in the corners of Tails' eyes. Rosemary's eyes did the same at seeing her son like this. Without hesitation, the two leaned forward and embraced each other tightly.

"I won't cut again, mom," Tails sobbed out.

"Let me hear a certain "P" word with that."

"I _**promise**_."

"Thank you dear…"

Rosemary glanced down at her watch. Her eyes opened in surprise.

"Oh geez, I'm late! I gotta get to work!"

Tails and his mother separated and she grabbed her things and sprinted towards the door. She went through it, but a moment before it shut, her head poked back in.

"Lock the door as soon as it shuts. And do not open this door for ANYBODY."

"O.K. mom."

"Bye sweetie." With that, she left, and Tails was alone.

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A few hours later…

Tails sat on his bed trying to do some math homework. He glanced over at his digital alarm clock. Its bright green numbers read "11:05." Tails rolled his eyes with boredom and returned to his work. After what felt like an hour and a half, the fennec looked back up at his clock. It now read " 11:16." That was the last straw for Tails. He couldn't stand just sitting there alone anymore. He slammed his book shut and tossed them aside. He then slipped on his sneakers, grabbed his keys, flipped off the television, and put his jacket on.

Tails then went to the door and opened it up. Outside, the alleyway was as dark as an underground cavern was revealed. He heard a raspy cough from somebody outside, and he could also see an ominous looking figure coming down the alley. The kit slammed the door shut, breathing heavy. With a deep swallow, Tails opened the door again and peered outside. The coast looked clear, so he went through the door and turned around to shut it.

Without warning, Tails felt himself being pushed forwards. His face collided with the door, throwing it open. He then was thrust up against the wall, going into it face-first again. He could feel somebody pinning him from behind, but he couldn't see who it was. When he tried to turn his head to see who it was, a revolver appeared next to his right eye and he could hear the hammer be cocked back, the barrel spinning as it did.

"You alone, kid?" asked a male voice.

"Uh-huh!" Tails squeaked out.

"Good. Don't wet yourself. MOVE!"

The unknown intruder forced the fox forward, brutally bashing him into the walls as they went along. When they reached the bathroom in the back, the thief pushed Tails and sent him across the room. Tails hit the sink with his stomach, causing the upper half of his body to fly forward, resulting in him hitting his head on the faucet. He let out a moan of pain as this happened.

"Drain yourself to the drain, ya little pussy." The interloper tossed down some hand cuffs down next to Tails. Tails pushed the intruder away and turned to face him, trying to look menacing.

"Woah-hoooooooo!... A tough guy…"

Tails found himself facing a purple and white weasel. He was wearing brown glove with metal plates on them, brown and white boots, and a brown Stetson hat. Tails immediately recognized him from the news. It was Nack the Weasel, also known as Fang the Sniper. Though utterly terrified by Nack's appearance, Tails kept his composure. But then the weasel did something unexpected. He put his revolver down on the sink, well within Tails' reach.

"Do it, kid. Take me out."

The thief and Tails only stared at each other.

"Here, I'll give you an advantage."

The weasel turned around and put his hands on the back of his head.

"GO AHEAD… DO IT…"

Tails looked down at the revolver. Every nerve in his body wanted to grab it and blow Nack's head wide open. But something kept Tails back, and before he knew it, a small whimper of fear escaped from his mouth. The thief turned back to Tails with a sigh, looking disappointed.

"What a loser."

A few minutes later, Tails sat cuffed to the drain pipe of the sink. He could hear Nack roaming around the house and rummaging through various drawers and cabinets. Then suddenly, he heard the thief slam something down to the ground and punch the wall.

"WHAT THE HELL IS IT WITH THIS PLACE!?"

The thief sprinted into the room, looking absolutely livid.

"You got nothing but SHIT in this place! No jewelry, no high-end electronics, and a T.V. that'll get me twenty bucks! Hell, the only good thing in here is a picture of your mom... I'd like to break into _**her**_ house if you know what I mean," he added, a sly grin forming on his lips, letting Tails know perfectly well what he meant.

"Screw you, jerk off!" Tails shouted in rage, seething through his teeth.

The thief took out the handcuff key and looked at it a second. He then tossed it into the toilet bowl and stormed out.

"Go fish, kid" he said as he walked out of the room and left the house, chuckling a bit as he went.

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About a half hour later…

Tails sat in a police station, running the hand cuff key through his fingers. Next to him, an officer in a suit was typing a report on what happened into his computer.

"O.K., you can go now."

Tails stood up, but the cop held out his arm to stop him.

"Remember now, your mom wants you to go STRAIGHT home. She'll be back when her shift is over. And if we find Nack, we'll give you a call."

Tails nodded. As he walked out, he noticed a clock up on the wall. It was less than ten minutes until midnight. Tails pondered for a minute what he should do now.

"Chuck…" Tails whispered to himself.

He'd made up his mind. Tails had to get to the theater. He darted out into the night, where rain was falling like Niagra Falls. After about a half hour of dodging people on the sidewalk and trying to keep his balance on the slick pavement, Tails reached the dark Pandora Theater. He began furiously pounding his fists on the front doors of the theater, having discovered they were locked.

"CHUCK! CHUCK! LET ME IN!"

It was no use. Nobody answered. In a last ditch effort, the drenched kitsune ran to the back service entrance of the theater. He pummeled the door with his hands, hoping to somehow get Chuck's attention. He stood waiting, shivering violently from the coold of the night and the heavy rain.

"Come on… Come ON… Please Chuck, come ON…"

Just as Tails took a step to walk away and give up, he heard the large door unlock and open behind him.

"I just about gave up on you, ya know."

Tails turned around. Rain ran down his muzzle fur in a steady stream and his breath could be seen coming out of his nose and he breathed in short, quick gasps from being to cold and having run across town.

"I'm sorry Chuck… I'm SO sorry…" he managed to say.

Chuck looked down at the little fox as he stood in the pouring rain. After a moment or two, Chuck motioned with his head to come in. Tails didn't wait one second to oblige. He was more than ready to get out of the rain.


	7. The Gold Emerald

**Chapter 7** – The Gold Emerald

Inside the movie theater, Tails shook off as much of the rain water from himself as he could. When he looked up at Chuck, he noticed he was dressed differently. He had swapped his favorite white coat for a light brown suit and red, circular hat.

"Well, what do ya think, Tails?"

"Well… I've never seen anything like that…" Tails said, a bit unsure of himself.

Chuck giggled.

"It's not too tight, is it?"

"No, no, it's… it's… the style."

Chuck laughed again.

"You know, I always wanted to be a magician. But look at my hands. They're so tiny!"

Tails smirked at Chuck's comment.

"See, my father used to be the bookkeeper here, and he got me my first job; USHER," Chuck said, pinching the collar or his suit. "After that, I slowly worked my way up to projectionist. It's not much, but… it's _**still**_ showbiz."

Tails smiled again, then clicked his tongue to change the subject.

"So uhh… Chuck… are we ready to roll?"

"Woah, wait just a minute there young man! Aren't we forgetting something?"

Chuck shut the door behind him. He then turned to Tails. The kit noticed there seemed to be a look in his eyes that he'd never seen before.

"Your ticket, Tails. You gotta have a ticket to see a movie. And I have JUST THE ONE."

The way Chuck said "just the one" sent a chill down the fennec's spine. Chuck moved closer to Tails, and he seemed almost possessed in the way he slowly moved about the room. His voice was now in an eerie low tone.

"See, when I was about your age, Harry Houdini, the greatest magician ever, played at this theater. After the show, my dad took me back stage to meet him. When he and I were alone, he made this weird gesture, like this…"

Chuck held up his hand. His hand was positioned as if her was holding a tennis ball in his hand with his fingers curling up to hold it.

"Then, all of a sudden, THIS…"

Chuck pulled something out of his pocket. It was a large, gold gem. In fact, it looked identical to the chaos emeralds and the black emerald Shadow used in the movies.

"…was in his hand. And what he told me next I'll never forget."

Chuck altered his voice to a strange, low, almost sinister voice.

"THIS... is a ticket, young man. It may look like a chaos emerald, but it is no ordinary emerald. It was given to me by the best magician in India, and it was given to him by the best magician in Tibet. It's a ticket… to take you to another world… It was mine… but now… it's **_yours_**…"

Tails was riveted where he stood, looking directly into Chuck's eyes. Then, just as quickly as it had started, Chuck's face went back to normal, and he spoke the way he always did.

"And now… it's yours," Chuck said casually.

Tails took the gold emerald and looked at it. It's was a little dusty, but it didn't appear to be damaged. All of this was quite interesting to Tails. But there was till one thing he still didn't know.

"What's it do, Chuck?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders and threw up his hands.

"I haven't the slightest idea, Tails. I never had the courage to use it and find out. I wanted to, but I just never did. I guess I was worried it wouldn't work. Houdini was my idol at that time. I guess I just didn't want to see if Houdini had been faking or not."

Tails and Chuck walked to the entrance of the theater where the ticket boxes were. Chuck suddenly stopped.

"What if it did work?"

Tails was caught of guard with this question.

"Yeah… Well… What if it did?"

Chuck took the emerald back and looked at it, then at Tails.

"Houdini told me something else. He said," Chuck said, changing back to his Houdini voice, "this emerald… has a mind of its own… it does… what **_it_** wants to do…"

Tails raised his eyebrows upon hearing this truly mysterious comment.

"And ya know what Tails? That always made me just a bit edgy about this thing."

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out if it works, right?

Chuck took one last look at the emerald, and handed it to Tails with a smile.

"Trust me, it doesn't work. I'm sure of it. But anyway, you ready for that movie?"

Tails' ears perked right up at hearing those words. His tails spun him right up into the air.

"I thought you'd NEVER say that!"

With that, the orange kit took his emerald and flew into the theater as Chuck headed for the projection room. Inside the theater, Tails took his favorite seat, where he found a tub of popcorn and a soda waiting for him there. He smiled gleefully at finding this nice surprise. Tails took one last look at the emerald, and with a shrug, tucked it into his inner jacket pocket. He then grabbed his snacks and sat quivering with excitement. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. As he was going to see "Sonic the Hedgehog IV" after all. This, he thought, was going to be a good night.

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**A/N**- The next chapter goes into the movie. I promise, there is a ton and a half of action coming in the next 2 or 3 chapters. I REALLY would like to see some more reviews. I want to know how I'm doing and I will gladly except any criticism and comments. So, read and review, PLEASE! I would really appreciate it.


	8. Sonic the Hedgehog IV

**Chapter 8** - "Sonic the Hedgehog IV"

A few minutes later, Chuck's voice rang out from the projection room above above the silent theater.

"Shall we see if Sonic the Hedgehog wins _this_ time!?"

"Sonic can't lose! Never _has_, never **_will_**!" Tails yelled back confidently.

Tails could hear Chuck laugh from above. The lights of the theater began to dim, and the sound of an old generator somewhere in the building that powered the lights could be heard powering down. In front of the kit, the screen began to glow brightly and a loud, hard rock song rumbled the walls of the old theater. The first screen that showed the "Columbia Pictures" logo blasted away in a huge blast of fire. Behind it, a concrete wall read "Starring 'Sonic the Hedgehog'" promptly blew up into hundreds of pieces. The next scene made Tails' neck stand up, for it was a brick wall that had the words "Sonia the Hedgehog" printed on it. Once the brick wall had blown open, a wooden wall said "Dr. Ivo Robotnik." Finally, the movie started as the wood wall was obliterated. Giant orange letters over a blue background flew in on the screen spelled out "Sonic the Hedgehog." Below this, the roman numeral "IV" dropped in with the sound of an explosion. All of the text and background then split and a huge, white, luxurious home on top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean was revealed.

"Ahhhhhh, Silver..." said an unseen, low, slightly raspy male voice.

The screen then revealed a tall, green, slightly buffed crocodile in a blue Hawaiian shirt and gray shorts and white flip-flops. He slowly leaned down and looked somebody off-screen in the face.

"Silver... why do you keep insulting me."

The screen switched to a silver hedgehog with five quills that stood up off the front of his head. All he wore was a white shirt, black jeans, and his signature boots and gloves. His face was bruised, swollen, lacerated, and bleeding badly. Both his eyes were blackened, and there was blood dripping from both of Silver's nostrils, which stained his white shirt. Slowly, with an angry glare, Silver, who was tied to a chair, looked up at the crocodile's face.

"For the last...damn...time... I DON'T know anything..."

"WHEN YOU LIE TO ME," the croc. shouted, "that's an insult! Now, I know you know who Sonic is. You talk to each other all the time! Now... I gotta know, what SONIC knows... and YOU... are going to tell me" the croc. said with an evil grin, waving his finger in Silver's face. "Now... I'll ask you one last time... does Sonic know that my Chaotix mob and the Babylon Rogues are about to sign a secret pact to control-"

The green reptile stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder at something. He nodded, then returned his gaze to Silver. He now spoke in a lower voice.

"...to control all of the drugs in Station Square?"

Silver looked at the croc. with an exasperated look.

"I wouldn't have a freakin' clue." Silver said, breathing heavy as blood dripped off his face.

The croc's face quickly turned fierce with rage. He snapped his fingers in the air, and a loud gunshot rang out. Next to Silver's head, a bullet went straight through the center of a bull's eye target. The silver mammal looked to the target and flinched with fright. He then peered over to see who'd shot at him.

Almost twenty-five feet away, a large, fat man in white tuxedo and dark sunglasses sat in a pool-side chair, reading a newspaper. In his left hand he held a huge, black, .500 Smith & Wesson revolver. Smoke was flowing out of the barrel as the man put the gun down on a table next to him. He'd taken the shot without even looking up from his paper.

"Hahahaha... Silver, I'd like you to meet... Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He's a good shot, as you can tell.'

Silver shook off the bit of fear he felt and scowled at the crocodile, who continued on.

"You'd better believe he's a good shot, you know. Listen to this... sometimes, he likes to build robots... while he's **_shooting_** people!"

The green one erupted in laughter at saying this. Silver, on the other hand, let out a sarcastic, unenthusiastic laugh. Finally, the croc. regained his composure and continued on.

"What I'm trying to tell you is Dr. Robotnik can take you out... as easy... as CAKE" he said, smiling.

Across the terrace, Robotnik sighed at what he heard.

"PIE... you reptilian schmuck" Robotnik muttered to himself.

The view went back to the croc., who now had a serious voice.

"That man...is...a mechanical genius." The croc was now face to face with Silver. "Do you want me to make him... **_operate_**... on YOU."

Silver couldn't take it anymore. His face contorted into a vicious glare and he looked the croc. square in the eye.

"DAMMIT! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Silver roared.

The crocodile had had enough as well. He raised up his right hand and formed a fist.

"Very well, Silver... Have it YOUR way..."

The croc. did a hay-maker punch to Silver's face. A splatter of blood came from Silver's nose as the punch connected. Silver was knocked out by the hit. His body went limp like a rag-doll, and his head fell to his chest, blood running out of his nose in a stream. The reptile then walked over to Robotnik, wiping the blood from his hand on a kleenex as he did so. As the croc. approached, Robotnik lowered his sunglasses, revealing a bone-chilling detail. His left eye was not a real eye. Rather, it was a glass eye. And it was no ordinary glass eye. It featured a red and white bull's eye target on it. When the croc. arrived next to him, he put down his paper and looked up at him, his glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

"Robotnik, dump him at his place. But... take it EASY on him..." The croc chuckled, then continued. "He bought it. He actually thinks me and The Babylon Rogues are joining forces! The beautiful part is... nobody knows different! Not... until after the funeral... Then... **_everybody_** will know..."

The croc turned to face Robotnik, who had since pushed his glasses back up onto his face.

"THEN, Robotnik...EVERYBODY will know... VECTOR CROCODILE... is number ONE" he said, pointing to himself while smiling in an evil yet satisfied way.

Out in the theater, Tails sat clutching his popcorn and soda. He looked at Vector with and smirked evilly.

"You are gonna pay... you are **_soooooo_** gonna pay..." Tails said to himself, as he stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

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**A/N** - This chapter sure gives you a whole new outlook on Robotnik. With that glass eye of his, he seems pretty intimidating.

Also, to all the Silver fans out there, I just want you to know, I have NOTHING against Silver. The only reason he got such an unfortunate role was I ran out of characters to use for him. He was all I had left.

And as always, please rate and review.


	9. Unexpected Circumstances

**Chapter 9** - Unexpected Circumstances

The scene then changed to a small, residential house somewhere closer to the city. Two cops were headed towards it, guns drawn.

"Are you sure this is the right address? This don't look like no crack-house to me" the older of the two cops said.

"Well what the hell do you want, sixty guy dancing on the lawn throwing cocaine at each other singing "Hakuna Matata?" Just kick the door in!" the younger cop said.

The two reached the front door. They were both about to kick the door down when the sound of squeaky brakes caught their attention. They looked back to the streets. To the side of the house, a gold, convertible, '69 Pontiac Bonneville had just pulled up.

"Oh great, look who it is..." the younger cop moaned.

The view switched the the Bonneville. Out stepped Sonic the Hedgehog in his signature attire. He casually tucked his .50 Desert Eagle in his belt line, picked up two grocery bags from the backseat, and took a step towards the house. He stopped upon seeing the two cops at the front door.

"What's up guys?" the hedgehog asked.

"Shut up Sonic! This is a drug bust!" the young cop snapped.

"Drug bust? DRUG BUST!?" Sonic laughed at hearing this, and began walking toward the house, grocery bags in hand. "You gotta be kidding me! My friend Silver lives in there! The only drugs you'll find in there are aspirin. And if you touch that front door, you're gonna need them."

The two cops lowered their weapons.

"Maybe there's been a mistake, Sonic. But we received an anonymous tip saying this was a cocaine distribution center."

Sonic was quickly getting fed up with this. With an annoyed look, he put down his groceries by the front door and knocked on it.

"Silver..._Silver_...**_SILVER_**..."

No answer came. The blue hedgehog took a step back and prepared to spin-dash the door down. But he stopped himself at the last second. He checked the door handle and found it was unlocked. Sonic pulled out his Desert Eagle and stepped in.

"Silver, what's going on here? You never leave your door un-"

Sonic stopped in horror.

"**SILVER!**"

Silver was tied to a chair in the middle of the living room. His whole body now had a metallic look about it and his eyes were black with red iris's. His whole body was now robotic. Upon hearing Sonic's voice, Silver started talking, not looking up.

"Sonic... Sonic... listen to me..." Silver gasped out in a weak, wheezing, pain-filled voice.

"What happened! Who did this to-"

"Listen to me... this is important..." Silver interrupted. "Vector Crocodile... and the Babylon Rogues... are joining forces..."

Silver's voice got weaker and lower as he said this. His breath was wheezing heavily and was so shallow it made Sonic flinch. With his last bit of strength, Silver lifted his head and looked Sonic in the eyes one last time. He then stared off into space.

"I'm outta here..."

One last, wheezing breath escaped from Silver's mouth. Then, Silver fell silent, his eyes shut, and his body went loose. Sonic grabbed the silver hedgehog's shoulders and shook him lightly.

"Silver! _Silver_! **_SILVER_**!"

It was no use. Sonic knew that Silver was gone. With a look of extreme sorrow and sadness, Sonic threw his arms around Silver and embraced him.

"I'm sorry Silver... I'm so sorry..." Sonic whispered, as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Slowly, Sonic let go of Silver's body and stood up, wiping his eyes.

"I'm gonna get the bastards that did this to you... I promise you..." Sonic said quietly.

Sonic was baffled as to what had been done to him. How could his whole body be turned robotic? He began to slowly and tearfully inspect Silver's body. That's when he found what looked like a small note taped to Silver's chest. It turned out it was a small deck of notes written on thick paper. The top one had Sonic's name on it. He flipped to the next. It had a large red number five on it. The ext had a large red four. Then a three. Then a two.

Sonic's eyes shot wide open in terror and he ran for the front door.

"IT'S A BOMB!"

Sonic had just gotten to the door and made a diving jump through it when the whole house behind him erupted into flames and then blew apart. Sonic, the two cops, and the cop car the two officers had arrived in were all sent flying into the air as the house was reduced to a pile of burnt wood and debris.

Despite the action, Tails was a bit unexcited. He'd seen things like this happen to many times before.

"Sonic's okay... Maybe a minor wound. Both the cops are dead, though."

On screen, Sonic slowly got up from the ground among a haze of smoke. He had a small cut on the right side of his forehead, which was bleeding ever-so-slightly. Sonic's ash-covered face looked up above him. The motionless bodies of the two cops hung from a palm tree.

"I knew it" Tails happily said to himself, tossing a piece of popcorn up into the air and caught it in his mouth.

Back on screen, Sonic was now standing up and looked back at the remains of Silver's house.

"They turned my cousin into a robot **_and_** a bomb..."

Sonic clenched his fists and growled a bit as he stared at the charred remains.

"Whoever did this has made a mistake... a BIG MISTAKE..."

Tails chuckled with joy at hearing Sonic say his signature line.

On screen, Sonic's ears flicked. He thought he heard something. He turned around saw a bright red Chevy pick-up truck had just come flying around the corner down the street. Three guys from the bed of the truck and one from the passenger seat popped up, each wielding a sub-machine gun.

Sonic looked at the truck for a second. He then smirked and made a dash for his Bonneville. He hopped in and fired up the engine, which roared ferociously. He also quickly popped a disc into his mini-disc player and cranked up the volume. The AC-DC song "Big Gun" began to blare as Sonic floored the accelerator. Smoke rose as the tired spun and the Bonneville rocketed away and around the corner, dodging the over-turned cop car from before. Behind Sonic, all the goons in the truck opened fired, and a barrage of bullets tore across the lawn at the Bonneville. But the cop car shielded Sonic as he drove on. The pick-up came around the corner and was now on Sonic's tail.

The goons kept shooting as they followed Sonic. One man also lit a flare and began lighting sticks of dynamite and tossing them at Sonic's car, which kept bouncing off and landing in the road, exploding violently a second or two later.

Tails' eyes illuminated with excitement. He was mesmerized by what he was seeing. But what he didn't see was that the emerald in his inner jacket pocket had began to glow in a golden color, and blue electric-like sparks were running around the edges of it. It was also emitting a slight, high-pitched humming noise, but it was drowned out by the movie.

On screen, the goon with the dynamite had just taped seven sticks of dynamite together into a hexagon-shaped wad. He wrapped the fuses together, lit it, and hurled it at Sonic's Bonneville. Sonic saw the dynamite coming in his rear-view mirror and quickly took out his Desert Eagle. He began firing at the air-borne explosives. Finally, a bullet struck the dynamite, and deflected is away its trajectory. It now flew off to the side.

Tails watched the screen intently. The dynamite was coming right at him. Any second he expected to see it go off and the whole screen would be covered with flames. It came closer... and closer... and closer... until it seemed to be right in front of him.

With a thud, the dynamite landed right in the kitsune's bucket of popcorn in his hands, sending a few pieces flying out. For a split second Tails thought he was imagining things, but quickly came to realize this wasn't an imagination. His eyes grew to three times there normal size.

"Ummmmmm... Chuck!? HELLO!?"

There was no answer from Chuck up above. Instinctively, Tails grabbed his soda. He thought he could use it to put out the fuse. But when he flipped it over, he made an unfortunate discovery. It was empty. A huge sweat drop appeared on Tails forehead as he found this out.

"Oh...shit..."

Glancing back at the dynamite, the kit's heart skipped a beat. There was about an inch left on the fuse. Without even thinking, Tails dropped the bucket and empty soda and flew up out of his seat.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUCK" Tails shouted, hoping to warn his friend of the danger.

Suddenly, Tails was blinded. He'd flown straight into the beam of light coming from the projector. He began to fly erratically around the theater, not even sure of which was he was going. At the last second, Tails could barely make out where he was. He was the complete opposite of where he wanted to be. Instead of flying towards an exit or the projection room, he'd turned around, and was now headed right at the screen. He knew he was too close to turn away. He was going to hit it head-on, and shortly there after, the dynamite would go off.

Tails braced for impact. Any second he expected to hit the screen and then be incinerated by the dynamite.

"This is it..." Tails thought.

--

**A/N** - As I promised, the chapters have been getting longer. Also, they are more exciting and action packed, as I promised.

Again, I apologize to any Silver fan out there. I have nothing against Silver in any way. He was the only character I had left that fit the role.

And what about Tails? What will become of him? Read on and find out!

And as always, please rate and review!


	10. The Chase

A/N- A big thank you goes out to all those who have been following the story thus far. I would especially like to thank my good friend Amras Felagund for all the reviews he has posted. All reviews are deeply appreciated.

Anyway, as promised, this is the first true action-packed chapter. so, sit back and enjoy!

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**Chapter 10** - The Chase

Everything around Tails felt warm and breezy. He'd landed somewhere, but he had no idea where he was or how long until the dynamite went off. He sat totally motionless, expecting that any second he'd be deafened by the sound of the dynamite going off and he'd be blown to pieces. But after a few seconds, nothing happened. No explosion, no flames, no nothing. The kit was extremely perplexed by this strange lack of activity. Very slowly, in case he would still be killed, he slid his eyes open.

"_What the hell?" _Tails thought to himself.

He was facing up into a clear, blue sky, and he could see palm trees passing by as well. Tails then noticed he was lying in between a pair of red leather seats and was lying on red carpeting. Not having even the slightest of clue as to where he was, Tails decided to sit up to see where he was. Tails grabbed hold of one of the seats and slowly pulled himself up. He had just sat all the way up, when...

**'KUHGOW'**

"AHHHHHHH!" Tails screamed, quickly throwing himself back down to the floor, holding his ears which now seared with pain from the massive discharge. Tails was convinced the dynamite had finally gone off. But something inside his mind told him to open his eyes. When he did, he saw a huge, silver handgun over one of the red seats. And if that wasn't enough, Tails was absolutely dumb-struck when the face of a blue hedgehog with a small stream of blood running down its forehead appeared over the back of the seat as well.

"Who the hell are you!?" the hedgehog shouted.

"D-D-D-Don't shoot me! I'm Miles Prower! I'm a kid!" the frightened kitsune stuttered out.

The roar of an engine interrupted the two of them. The hedgehog shot a look over his shoulder and quickly ducked down as a crescendo of multiple sub-machine guns being fired rang out. For a few seconds Tails sat with his ears covered and his eyes closed tightly. When the shots subsided, he opened his eyes and saw the hedgehog sit back up and make a sharp left turn. The force of the turn threw Tails up against the side of what he now knew was a car. Another round of bullets started tearing up the pavement and even ricocheted off the car. When the gunshots stopped, the blue face appeared over the seat again.

"How did you get in here?" he asked.

"I'm not too sure where 'here' is, but I really don't think you want to know."

"Alight. Just get down, stay flat, close your eyes, and don't move! Got it!?" he shouted and yet another wave of bullets began to catch up to them.

Tails made a quick OK sign with his hand and did exactly as he was told. Though he couldn't see anything, Tails could feel the g-forces of the car as it shot around corners and weaved back and forth to dodge the onslaught of bullets. Not only that, but there were large explosions that kept occurring every so often. Even though the fox had his hands covering his ears as tight as he could, each blast caused his ears to throb with pain. For a few seconds, the car seemed to straighten out, even slowing up a bit. Then Tails heard the massive handgun fire off again.

**'KUHGOW'**

The shock wave of the shot rattled through Tails' ribcage. It also caused him to flinch at the sheer sound of it. It was truly terrifying.

**'KUHGOW' ****'KUHGOW' ** **'KUHGOW'**

Between the repeated shots from the gun overhead and the strange activity of the car, Tails couldn't stand keeping his eyes shut anymore. Tails opened his eyes to see what was going on, but just as quickly as he opened his cyan eyes, he began to wish he hadn't. The hedgehog had turned completely around in his seat, aiming his gun at whoever was pursuing them. Since both hands were on his gun, the hedgehog used one foot to control the wheel and one to control the pedals. A lightning-like feeling shot through Tails' nerves and his veins ran cold at the sight before him.

"You're... you're driving with NO HANDS!" Tails squeaked, a note of terror leaking out, causing his voice to crack slightly.

**'KUHGOW'** "You figure that one all by yourself?" the hedgehog snidely remarked. **'KUHGOW'**

Tails was far too freaked out to acknowledge the rude comment.

"BUT! How can you-"

**'KUHGOW'**

"If you think it's easy, think again. **'KUHGOW'** You have to practice lot... **'KUHGOW'** But most importantly... **'KUHGOW'** Never EVER do it... **'KUHGOW'** in heavy traffic..."

**'KUHGOW'**

With the final shot, Tails heard a man yelp in pain. In the rear view mirror, he saw a body flying through the air and crash through the windshield of an ice cream truck with a lit stick of dynamite in his hand. The truck was blown to pieces, sending bits of shrapnel and flaming debris in every direction. At that very moment, Tails got a good look at who was pursuing them in the rear view mirror. It was one very familiar looking red pick-up truck. But before he could make any sense of what he was seeing, Tails saw a man in the back of the truck throw his arms up then fall face first on the roof of the truck. An ice cream cone grotesquely protruded from the back of the goon's head.

The hedgehog, still driving with no hands, smiled at what he saw.

"Well, I guess I 'iced' that guy," he said happily as he spun around to take control of the wheel, "to 'cone' a phrase."

Apparently, the remaining goons weren't phased by losing two men. They immediately opened fire on the Bonneville. Tails ducked down as low as he could. But at this point, the kit's mind seemed to reactivate and began to analyze everything that had just happened.

"The bad puns... the voices... the music... the incredible stunts..." Tails quietly said out loud.

Suddenly, Tails came to a realization.

"This is happening... This is all REALLY happening..."

Tails' intellectual thoughts were cut short by a thud right next to him. He raised his head up and found himself face to face with a stick of dynamite on the back seat. Tails' eyes shot wide-open and he almost started to hyperventilate. Beads of sweat also started to form on the little fox's forehead.

"No... this is NOT happening..."

Tails noticed the fuse on the explosive. It was half-way done.

"Oh shit!... This is so not hap-"

Tails stopped talking when he suddenly saw the hedgehog's hand darting around the back seat, frantically searching for the dynamite. The car began to oscillate violently back and forth, sending both Tails and the dynamite flying around the back seat. Before Tails could even grab onto anything, he heard the tires squeal and the car was turned to the right. With no time to react, Tails was thrown to the left wall of the car as the car tilted upward and began to ride on its to left tires. A quick glance revealed to Tails that the hedgehog had somehow managed to get the car up on two wheels. Another glance ahead revealed that they were headed straight for a reversing gas truck.

"WOOOOAAAAH!" Tails yelled as he tried with all his might to keep from falling out of the car. Tails suddenly remembered the dynamite. He looked up to find it falling straight at him. He quickly reached up and caught it when it was about a foot in front of him. Frozen in fear, the orange fox noticed that there was about an inch left on the fuse. It was at that exact moment the hedgehog reached back and pulled the dynamite away from Tails and snuffed out the fuse between his fingers. The car then proceeded ti pass right behind the gas truck and then slam back down to the ground. Behind them, the red pick-up's path was now blocked by the gas truck. The Bonneville performed a power slide around another corned and was now headed towards a bridge. At that exact moment, the AC-DC song stopped.

"Aw man! We need some more tunes!" the hedgehog said with a bit of a whine.

Tails decided to take the chance of getting off the floor. He got up and sat down on the hot leather seat as the blue hedgehog opened the glove compartment and pulled out another mini-disc and put it in his player. He also put the stick of dynamite in the glove compartment and shut it. Another hard-rock song began to blast from the car speakers as they began to cross the bridge. They had barely traveled fifteen feet across when about half-way across the bridge a black minivan slammed on its breaks and stopped with its side facing them.

"NOW what!?" the hedgehog growled.

He soon got his answer. The side door slid open and a goon on a rig with a mini-gun was revealed. The huge gun unleashed a barrage of bullets that blew a canal through the asphalt right at the Bonneville. Tails had barely registered the minivan when he felt the car whip to the left. When he spun his head to see what was going on, an enormous distress droplet formed on the back of the kit's head. They were heading towards the edge of the bridge at high speed. Before Tails could even scream, the car smashed through concrete barrier and began to free-fall towards the ground. Far below them was a giant aqueduct drain channel.

Tails snapped forward and clung to the passenger seat in front of him and began to yell in horror. A few seconds later, the Bonneville slammed down onto the sloped side of the channel and drove on undamaged. They shot across to the other side of the channel, cutting through giant puddles as the did so. Behind them, the black minivan had just driven through a fence and down the side of the channel, chasing after them. Up ahead of them on another bridge, the red pick-up had showed up. The goons inside it wasted no time rattling off more shots from their sub-machine guns.

"Man, these guys don't wanna give up!" the hedgehog commented with a smirk.

The car make a quick turn to the right and sped up the sloped side. They reached the top in no time. At these speeds, Tails knew all too well they were going airborne.

"NOT AGAAAAIIIIN!" Tails shrieked.

At the last second, the blue hedgehog threw the steering wheel hard to the left. This made the car have enough momentum when it went airborne to do a barrel roll through the air. Tails' face went from yellow-orange to green as they flipped through the air. With a hard impact, the car landed on the rear end of a tractor-trailer. The hedgehog floored the gas. The Bonneville raced forward, drove over the cab of the truck, and landed perfectly on the ground. For the moment, they had evaded both the minivan and pickup truck.


	11. I'm in the Movie!

**Chapter 11** - "I'm in the Movie!"

The hedgehog slowed the car down and smiled gleefully at the move he'd just pulled off. But he quickly stopped smiling at what he saw next. The little fox was leaning over the side of the car making retching sounds and his muscles were in spasms. A distress drop formed on the blue mammal's head at the thought of the mess that was surely on the side of the car.

"Yo buddy!"

The fox agonizingly looked back over at the hedgehog, who had raised his right eyebrow at him.

"Sorry... I tossed my cookies... I thought we were gonna be killed..." Tails moaned. With a heavy groan, he laid his aching head down on the head rest of the passenger seat in front of him, his face still a bit green. The hedgehog only smirked and looked forward.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, little buddy! But look on the bright side! Now you'll get to enjoy all sorts of wonderful things this world has to offer! Like... acne... shaving... indigestion... premature ejaculation, there's a good one!"

As the hedgehog continued naming things, Tails glanced over to the passenger-side rear view mirror. In it, he saw the black minivan fly up from the channel wall, soar through the air, flip over, and slam into the ground, bursting into flames as it did so.Tails looked to see if the hedgehog had even noticed the minivan. Either he hadn't seen it, or did and didn't care, because he continued naming things.

"How about erectile dysfunction? That's always nice... influenza... migraines... divorce from marriage..."

It was at that point the red pick-up had gotten close enough to them on the bridge and opened fire yet again. The car turned hard right and proceeded up a ramp that led to the streets. To Tails' amazement, the blue hedgehog was still naming different things.

"Diarrhea... insane taxes...bad drivers!..."

He'd said the last thing just as he swerved the car out of the way of a white box truck that almost hit them head-on. The Bonneville quickly turned onto a small road and roared down it at high speed as the hedgehog resumed his seemingly infinite list of things to look forward to.

"Bad gas on your first date... loud neighbors... angry bosses... bad relationships..."

They had reached a dead-end. The car spun 180 degrees and backed into a truck-loading area. The hedgehog gave an angry stare at his surroundings and added one last thing to his already mile long list.

"...And dead-end alleyways" the hedgehog said, mildly irritated.

Before either could say anything else, a loud engine could be heard revving up ahead. The two looked up the alleyway. The red pick-up was blocking the way out. It sat menacingly revving its engine, the torque causing it to rock back in forth with each rev of the engine.

Tails looked over at he hedgehog, excitement beginning to fill his eyes.

"You're gonna play chicken, aren't ya?"

The hedgehog looked back at him and smirked.

"Fasten your seatbelt."

As Tails buckled himself in the back seat, the mighty V-8 of the Bonneville began to rev. The torque of the engine made the car actually hop several inches upward each time. The hedgehog gripped the steering wheel tightly and stared straight ahead. Tails leaned forward and grabbed hold of the passenger seat.

"Cross as many fingers as you can, kid."

The Bonneville patched out and raced down the alley at top speed. Up ahead, the pick up was now bearing down on them. Both drivers stared each other in the eyes, neither showing the slightest signs of slowing down or stopping. The gap between both vehicles had closed so quickly that they were now about twenty feet apart. Still, neither one was ready to give up.

But when both vehicles were about ten feet apart, that all changed. Tails could see the driver of the pick up scream in terror and slam on the brakes while turning to the right. The truck struck a pile of cardboard boxes, which somehow crumpled into a perfect ramp, sending the truck flying up into the air. The last goon in the bed of the truck was shot up into the air like a rag doll as the truck flew through the air straight at the side of a building and smashed into it, bursting into flames and crashing to the ground in a heap of scorched metal and burning gas.

The hedgehog had stopped the car to watch the whole spectacle that had just unfolded. With a smirk, he nonchalantly took a cigar out from his pocket and lit it with his zippo lighter. Out of nowhere, they heard a scream. The goon that had shot into the air came flying down and landed face-first in a dumpster next to them. The hedgehog only glanced over at the dumpster as he sat quietly stoking his cigar.

Tails had now began to contemplate everything that had just happened. His mind was racing with thoughts.

"_How could the truck have launched off of the boxes like that? How could we have made it through that whole chase and not gotten hurt or damaged the car? And why does this guy dress, sound, act, and drive like Sonic from the movies?" _the kit thought.

Suddenly, the hedgehog chuckled a bit. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out the stick of dynamite from before. He re-lit the fuse with his cigar and tossed it into the dumpster, where the goon's feet stuck straight up out of the trash in it. The car slowly started to pull away at a leisurely speed. Upon seeing such an unthinkable act, Tails finally figured it all out.

"I'm in the movie... Holy SHIT! I'm in the movie!" said said excitedly to himself as another rock song started from the mini-disc player.

Tails reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out the gold emerald. It wasn't doing anything, but Tails knew it was how he had gotten into the movie. Tails suddenly looked over the back of the car, in the hopes that somehow back in the movie theater Chuck would see him.

"Chuck, I'm in the movie! I'm in the movie with Sonic the Hedgehog! Houdini wasn't kidding about the emerald!"

The Bonneville reached the end of the alleyway and pulled out onto the road. The sound of an explosion echoed out of the alleyway at an intense volume. Up above, Tails saw the dumpster shoot at least a hundred feet into the air and fly back down, landing with a loud slam.

"Woah..." Tails said, utterly enjoying the fact that he was now in the movie and taking part in all the action, including witnessing a dumpster shooting off into the air like a rocket.

The kit sat back down in the back seat and tucked the emerald away in his pocket. He was quivering with excitement. The mere fact that he was in the movie with Sonic the Hedgehog, one of the only things he'd ever truly cared about ,was overwhelming for him. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the seat, cherishing this thought, and wondering what would happen next.

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A/N- So, there ya go! The first real action sequence!

And if you hadn't already figured it out, obviously the mystery hedgehog was none other the Sonic himself.

As always, please leave reviews. I really appreciate them. Even if it's just a few words, that's fine. I just would like some feedback on how the story is and any suggestions or questions you may have.


	12. The Station Square Police HQ

**Chapter 12 **- The Station Square Police H.Q.

A little while later, Tails opened his eyes. He found that his head was laying on his right shoulder and he was in the corner of the backseat of the car. He figured out he'd dozed off. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Tails looked around to find out where he and Sonic were. They has just pulled onto a road leading to a large building with glass paneling and a circular marble fountain out front of it. As they drove by the fountain, Tails noticed there ere words around the edge of it. The golden words read "Station Square Police Department."

_"Man... this place sure seems pretty nice..."_ Tails thought to himself.

They pulled up next to the building and a valet parking attendant opened the door for Sonic. Tails helicoptered his way out of the back seat and flew to rejoin Sonic as the Bonneville was drove off to the parking garage. The fox caught up with the hedgehog at the front door to the station and they entered it. Inside, the H.Q. was buzzing with both cops and newly arrested criminals. The floors were made of black marble, the railings and fancy light fixtures were made of gold, and the carpeting was red. There were even several large plants, trees, and fountains in the station as well.

Tails' amazement at his surroundings froze him in his place.

"Man... this is much nicer than the REAL Station Square police station."

Tails felt somebody grab him by the collar of his jacket and lift up him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw it was Sonic. He carried the kitsune to a desk and set him down on it.

"YO SONIC! Your ex-wife is on line two!" a cop called out from across the room.

Sonic picked up the phone on his desk and pushed the button for line two. He was about to speak when he quickly covered the mouthpiece and gave a glance to Tails.

"Stay put" he said plainly. He then turned back to the phone.

_"Geez... what a hard-ass..." _Tails thought as Sonic began talking into the phone.

"Hello sweetheart! How are you?... That's good... I know, it's so nice to hear your voice too..."

Bored with the conversation, Tails looked around the station. He was still enthralled with the luxury of the station. He watched and listened to a man on a raised platform that was calling out the names of people who were being partnered up, but quickly grew bored with that. Since nothing interesting was going on, Tails turned back to Sonic.

"That's right sweetie... uh-huh... that is right... uh-huh..."

As he was saying this, Sonic took out a tape player and an audio cassette. He put the tape in the player and put his finger on the play button.

"Yup.. I'll do just that..." Sonic said as he quickly put the phone's mouthpiece down on the speaker of the tape player and hit the play button. He walked away into the crowded station as the tape started to say things like "yup," "mm-hmm," "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah," and other such such things, all with pauses in between to allow for answer. Tails squinted at the tape player and laughed incredulously at the sheer thought of what it was doing. Behind him, Tails heard the announcer say something he couldn't believe.

"Rousche... you're teamed up with the chao."

_"WHAT THE HELL DID HE JUST SAY!"_ the confused fox thought.

He quickly turned around, and sure enough, there was an officer and a little chao headed for the exit together. Tails' right eyebrow shot up at seeing this and could only shake his head in disbelief, laughing slightly as he did so. As Tails turned back, he saw Sonic returning with a cup of coffee. He bent down and put his ear next to the receiver of the phone and listened carefully. After a moment, he quickly snatched up the phone and hit the stop button on the tape player.

"Alright, talk to you later honey."

With that, Sonic hung up the phone and put the tape player back in his desk. He was about to reach for his cup of coffee when he quickly shot a look over his shoulder, but there was nobody behind him. Slowly, Sonic turned back for him coffee, but again he turned around, faster this time. The third time Sonic turned around and reached for his cup, he bared his teeth and turned around so fast is was almost instantaneous. He also had grabbed something his left hand and was about to swing around and throw a punch with his right hand when a purple chameleon in a gray suit appeared. Sonic stopped half-way though his punch and a broad smile covered his face.

"ESPIO!"

"About damn time you figured it out, Sonic!" Espio said jokingly as Sonic released his grip on his the chameleon's suit.

Sonic turned around and gave Espio a quick, manly hug then leaned on his desk.

"Espio, you son-of-a-bitch, you know how close I was to turning around and slugging you? Nobody screws with my quills."

The two shared a laugh.

"So what are you doing away from Washington D.C., Espio?"

"Well Sonic, if you haven't figured it out already, there's something weird going on between..."

Espio lowered his voice to an almost inaudible level and his face grew very stern.

"What I'm about to tell you is top secret, but-"

"I know, I know, Espio. Vector's Chaotix mob and The Babylon Rogues are joining forces."

The purple reptile looked at Sonic incredulously.

"Dammit Sonic! How did you find that out!?"

"Well for one, I don't have my ass parked behind a desk all day chowing down on donuts" Sonic responded with his usual smirk, tapping Espio's stomach as he did so, to which the purple being smiled.

"Those are government donuts, Sonic. It's hard work that I do, you know. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta put a call through to Washington."

Espio turned away and wandered into the plethora of people. Tails, meanwhile, had been trying to figure out where he'd seen that reptile's face before. Then it struck him.

"SONIC! Don't trust him!" Tails shot out.

Sonic looked at the fox like he was insane.

"What the hell are you... wait... let me guess... is this a movie thing?"

"YES!"

Sonic started thumbing through a file as he listened.

"Yeah? Well, we've saved each other's lives before, and I've known him for a long time. We're good friends." Sonic closed the file and set it on his desk. "But despite that, I'll make sure I keep PARTICULAR attention on him, thanks" Sonic added sarcastically.

Sonic then knelt down and looked Tails in the eyes with an angry expression.

"And do me a BIG favor... ENOUGH WITH THIS MOVIE SHIT ALREADY!" he shouted.

**_"SOOOOOOOOOOOONIIIIIIIIIIIIC!"_**

The mighty scream broke not only the eardrums of everybody in the entire police station, but also the glass office walls that had said "122." Sonic shut his eyes and looked exasperated.

"Now look what you've done, kid!" Sonic growled.

The hedgehog slowly turned and walked off to what was left of office 122. After Tails had gotten over the initial shock of Sonic yelling at him, he quickly ran over to the office Sonic went into. As he got closer, He could hear somebody screaming at the top of their lungs and doing so at such a speed that you almost couldn't understand what was being said.

_"I know that voice" _Tails thought.

When the young fox rounded the remains of the glass door of the office his eyes feel upon a red echidna in a gray suit, screaming into Sonic's bored face. The echidna was so into what he was screaming he didn't even see Tails enter.

"Good old Lieutenant Knuckles... you're still the same" Tails thought to himself, concealing a laugh as he watched him blasting his voice at full volume at Sonic.


	13. Meet Your New Partner

A/N - I've noticed that there have been comments about characters being OOC. I'm well aware that many times the characters have been acting in ways they normally wouldn't. But understand, for this story to even work, I HAD to do that. That holds especially true for this chapter. Still, I did try to stay to the way the characters really acted as much as possible.

With that said, here's the next chapter.

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**Chapter 13** - "Meet Your New Partner"

Inside the office, Knuckles continued on his rant in Sonic's face. The echidna's eyes were bulging, his nostrils were flaring, and he was breathing heavily. As all this played out, Tails leaned against a wall and enjoyed the show.

"Thanks to you Sonic, I got the City Council chewing my nuts off for that plane you caused to crash! I've got the mayor having to schedule a parade up the Lincoln Tunnel for that stunt you pulled on the beach! I'M SICK OF THIS! SICK OF IT! Now, you better tell me what everything is, isn't, and will be!** _DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!_**"

"I'm just doing my job" Sonic replied in a low, miserable, bored tone.

"**DAMMIT SONIC!** You've given this department the worst reputation in the country because you 'do your job' the way you do!"

Tails was growing a bit bored with Knuckle's rant, so he took out the emerald Chuck had given to him. He pondered it for a minute, but since nothing special was happening to it as far as he could see, he put it back in his pocket. At random, he looked out around the H.Q. as the announcer continued handing out partners to people.

"Topaz... you're partnered up with the Big Cat."

_"What did he just-"_

Tails didn't even finish his thought as his eyes widened at what he saw. A large, purple cat with yellow eyes dressed in a gray trench coat, gray fedora hat, and sunglasses, strolled over to the female officer Topaz. He was at least three times as fat and twice as tall than anybody in the building.

"Duuuuuuh, how ya doin'!" the giant feline said in a low, dopey-sounding voice.

He went to give the officer a friendly slap on the back, but ended up hitting her so hard, he ended up knocking her down onto the floor. Immediately the other officers in the area helped get the dazed Topaz back to her feet.

"Oh my! I'm soooo sowry! I didn't mean to knock you to the gwound!"

The big cat held out his hand to help the officer up, but she smacked it away.

"You touch me again and I'll kick your ass so hard you'll be coughing up bloody fur balls, got it!" Topaz screamed.

Tails watched as the cat and Topaz proceeded to get into a loud argument as Knuckles continued his rant at the same time. Tails looked back and forth at the two verbal fights going on. The sheer idea of these two disputes was too much for Tails to take, and he let out a small laugh.

"Who the **_HELL_** are **_YOU_**, kid!?"

Tails jumped slightly upon being acknowledged. He found Knuckles and Sonic staring at him. Sonic looked mildly irritated, much the way he had looked the whole time. Knuckles, on the other hand, was a much more amazing sight. Despite being bright red by nature, the echidna's face was a shade of deep red and his teeth were bared. There was even sweat rolling off of his head and he was seething through his teeth. Tails couldn't help but smile at Knuckles.

"Sonic... you mind telling me who the hell this kid is, and more importantly, why he's smiling at me!" Knuckles growled through his tightly locked jaw.

Tails responded before Sonic could.

"I'm smiling because I love how you two always fight, when I know how you two REALLY feel about each other."

Knuckles clenched his fists as tight as he could and began to quiver with rage.

"Well that's really charming kid! Since you're so freakin' smart, why don't you tell me how I REALLY feel about this piece of shit over here!"

"You're dearest friends," Tails said calmly.

Knuckles froze in his place and his eyes lit up in complete shock. Tails took advantage of the silence to continue his point.

"You and Sonic have been friends ever since your wife Rouge left you for a man who owned a diamond mine and threatened to lie to the press that you cheated on her. But Sonic managed to convince her to have your marriage annulled and she'd leave peacefully so there'd be no record of you having relations with her and no lies would be told. When she left, as sad as you were, you looked at Sonic and said 'Sonic... I've lost the love of my life... But you saved me from the humiliation that would have come if she'd done what she said she was going to do. You'll always be my dearest friend for that, and somehow, someway, I'll pay you back for this.' And despite all your fighting, Knuckles, you still hold true to those feelings," Tails concluded.

Knuckles was on the verge of tears. His lips were quivering and tears were on the verge of free-falling from his eyes. The echidna mournfully looked over at Sonic, who actually looked a bit surprised himself at what Tails had just said.

"Sonic... you promised me... that you'd never tell..." Knuckles barely managed to say, his voice full of tears.

"I didn't tell," Sonic said.

Knuckles launched forward over his desk and grabbed Sonic by the throat.

"**WELL THEN HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW ALL THAT!**" Knuckles roared as tears now fell freely down his cheeks.

"The first Sonic the Hedgehog" Tails replied before Sonic could say anything.

Tails had been referring to the first Sonic movie, but that's not how Knuckles took it. Completely enraged, Knuckles tightened his grip on Sonic's throat and was now nose-to-nose with the hedgehog.

"You told you DAD about this, Sonic!? What the hell were you thinking!?" Knuckles shrieked, an utterly disgusted look on his face.

"I didn't tell **_ANYBODY_** I don't even know this kid!" Sonic managed to gasp out.

Knuckles released his grip on Sonic and sat back down. Sonic took a few deep breaths while rubbing his throat. When he'd finally caught his breath he looked up to Knuckles, who appeared to be in deep thought.

"Ya know Sonic... for somebody that we don't know, this kid sure seems to know a lot about us."

Both Sonic and Knuckles now shifted their eyes to the suspicious fox. An enormous sweat drop formed on Tails' head as only one thing went through his head.

_"Me and my big, fat mouth..."_

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A few minutes later Tails found himself cornered in Knuckles' office with an incredibly bright light shinning in his face. The two had interrogated Tails, and Knuckles was now on the phone trying to verify all that Tails had told them. After a few minutes and talking to a few different people, Knuckles slammed down the phone and gave the fox a suspicious yet sinister look.

"Station Square has _NEVER_ heard of you, Mr. Prower. No such number, no such name, no such residence."

Before Tails even had the chance to think, Sonic leaned over to him, the same look on his face as Knuckles.

"What's your _REAL_ name" he asked in an emotionless tone.

"It really is Miles Prower!"

Where are you _REALLY_ from?" Knuckles asked the same way Sonic did.

"Station Square!" Tails shot out, started to get frustrated.

There was a slight pause, then Sonic chimed in.

"How'd you get into my car?"

"I..."

Tails stayed silent for a moment. He knew that the patience of his interrogators was wearing thin. If he didn't say something they'd believe right now, he'd be in serous trouble. Then it hit him.

"I was walking by your car as the house you were at blew up. I took cover inside it to protect myself, and you pulled away before I could get out. If I hadn't jumped in, I'd probably been killed."

Tails gave the most sincere look he could. Sonic and Knuckles thought for a moment, then both nodded their heads in belief. The two sat back in their chairs and Knuckles turned off the light.

"Finally, some truth." Knuckles said calmly. "Now Sonic, why were those guys after you?"

"Well, Silver found out some information from Vector Crocodile about the recent marriage of his Chaotix Mob and the Babylon Rogues to-"

"Don't put too much faith into what Vector said," Tails interrupted.

Sonic looked over to the fox. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"How do you know what Vector told Silver?"

"Please, trust me! I know a lot about what's going on! Just listen to me, and I'll-"

"That sounds like a _FANTASTIC_ idea," Knuckles said, cutting off what Tails had been saying.

The two looked at Knuckles in total confusion.

"Sonic...meet your new parter," Knuckles said with a smug grin.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other. A smile erupted across Tails' face, his eyes glowing with excitement. Sonic, on the other hand, turned pale and his eyes resembled searchlights with how wide they were.

"Knuckles... please tell me you're joking," Sonic said with a sweat drop on his head, sounding almost afraid to know the answer.

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A few minutes later out in the H.Q., the announcer spoke up over the crowd

"Sonic!... You're teamed up with the two-tailed kitsune, Miles Prower."

Sonic took his partnership papers and crumpled them up, then threw them across the room onto his desk. Tails took his and tucked them into his inner-jacket pocket. The hedgehog stomped away in a huff, Tails following close behind him.

"Come on, Sonic! This'll be fun! We're perfect partners! I'll teach you to be... sociable, I guess, and you'll teach me to be fearless and tough like you!"

Sonic didn't acknowledge a single word of what Tails said. He made his way over to an elevator and pushed the down button. While they were waiting for the elevator to arrive, Tails took out his papers and glanced over them real quick. He was thrilled by what he read on it, but his excitement peaked when he read the words "Miles Prower is hereby enlisted as a temporary officer of the L.A.P.D. to assist in the solving of Officer Sonic's case."

"Officer Prower... I like the sound of that," Tails happily said out loud.

Sonic scoffed at hearing this. The elevator had arrived and the two stepped in. With a violent jab, Sonic punched the button labeled "Parking Garage." Tails noticed the hedgehog's mood.

"Cheer up, Sonic. It'll all be O.K."

"Yeah, whatever Miles."

"Call me Tails."

Sonic looked down at the little fox.

"Tails? Is THAT what people call you?"

"Yup."

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"All this proves one thing though, Sonic. This really IS a movie.

Sonic let out a sigh of frustration upon hearing this. It was the last thing he wanted to hear. Just then, the elevator doors opened to the parking garage, but Sonic knew all to well that this day was only going to get worse.

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A/N- I hope that everybody enjoyed that chapter. It took m a good long while to come up with that, especially the bit on how Knuckles and Sonic became friends.

Also, just to restate what I said, I understand the characters may be OOC, but it was necessary for the story to work the way I wanted it to.

And as always, Any comments or critiques are welcome. Just leave a review. I really appreciate them.


	14. Movie Proof

**Chapter 14** - Movie Proof

The elevator had finally reached the bottom and opened to reveal the parking garage. Sonic stormed out of the elevator an up to a desk where an attendant handed out the keys of the cars. Tails approached, and much to the dismay of Sonic, continued with what he'd been saying in the elevator.

"Think about it, Sonic. If this were the real world, do you really think they'd let me work with you? Hell no! They'd just stick me in some child care center or something."

Sonic ignored Tails as he retrieved the keys to his Bonneville and then headed towards his car. Still determined, the little fox spoke up yet again.

"Alright, here's a good one! Tell me how I know that Vector tortured Silver and then stashed him back at his house as a robotic time-bomb. You know how I know? Because I saw it ON SCREEN, because THIS is a MOVIE!"

Sonic pivoted around on the spot upon hearing this and glared at Tails.

"You know, you think you're so funny, don't ya! Notice I'm not laughing. Know why? Because somebody killed Silver, and that was a B-"

"BIG MISTAKE," Tails cut in. "That is what you were gonna say, right?"

Sonic continued to glare at Tails, but a tiny sweat drop appeared on the hedgehog's head. Tails could tell by Sonic's look that he had guessed right.

"GEE... HOW would I know THAT" Tails taunted.

"Because you're a smart-ass" Sonic retorted coldly.

Sonic turned back around and continued to his car. For a moment, Tails stood there offended by what had just been said to him. Just as Sonic was sitting down in the driver's seat, Tails flew over and landed on the hood of the car, prompting Sonic to look up.

"Shoot me, Sonic" Tails said ominously.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at hearing this, especially since it had been said so seriously.

"You heard me. Take your Desert Eagle, put it against my head, pull the trigger, and blow my brains out."

Sonic's eyebrow dropped, realizing he'd heard right. But he still kept his eyes on Tails.

"Well? You gonna do it or not?"

Sonic finally looked away and put the key in the car's ignition, starting it up. Tails smirked and flew into the passenger seat.

"I knew you weren't gonna do it. Know why? Because **_you're the good guy_**. You don't kill people like that."

Sonic slammed his fists against the steering wheel and rolled his eyes. He was truly getting fed up with this. He turned his head to the kit so fast his quills slapped his cheek.

"You **_really_** believe that you're in a movie, don't you!?" Sonic said in a quick, angry tone.

"**_YES!_**" Tails shouted.

"Fine. I'm gonna give you ten minutes to prove this is a movie. If after ten minutes I'm not convinced, **_the__n_** I'll shoot you," Sonic responded, trying to sound serious.

"You're on," Tails said, knowing full well that Sonic wasn't even the slightest bit serious.

Sonic shifted the Bonneville into drive and floored the gas. The car flew up the enter/exit ramp on the enter side. When they reached the top, the car went airborne and flew over a squad car pulling into the garage. The driver of the squad car was frightened by the car flying over him, causing him to make a quick turn to the right and smash into the wall at the entrance of the garage.

"DAMMIT SONIC!" the driver of the squad car yelled as the Bonneville landed and performed a power slide onto the main road, making Sonic chuckle and smirk a bit.

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A short while later the two stopped at a blockbuster video store at Tails' request.

"I'll show you I know what I'm talking about" Tails said as they entered the store.

The kitsune led the way. He knew full well that the action section of the store would give him the proof he needed. But as Tails checked around the action section of the store, he couldn't find a single movie that Sonic had ever been in. At that point, Tails noticed that there wee several famous movie ads in large picture frames on the walls. From Tails' vantage point, he could just see the top of one that said "Terminator 2."

"SONIC! I got it! Come here!"

Tails quickly led Sonic to the ad. But just before it came into view, Tails looked back at Sonic.

"See!?"

"Yeah? So?" Sonic said, unimpressed.

"What's wrong with you!? THAT'S-"

Tails had finally looked forward at the ad. His jaw dropped open, his eyes grew as thin as a line, and a soccer ball-sized sweat drop formed on the kit's head. Rather than having Sonic the Hedgehog on a motorcycle for the "Terminator 2" ad, it featured a picture of Sam Speed.

"No... it's...it's impossible"

Sonic looked at the confused fox.

"What is? He's a fantastic actor. This was one of his finest films."

"B-B-B-BUT! That was YOU! YOU were in that movie!"

Behind them, a tall, beautiful, light brown squirrel with long, dark brown hair and a light blue jacket overheard their conversation.

"You were in a movie?" she asked.

Sonic turned around and instantly he had a smile that went from ear to ear. In a suave manner, he stroked his quills and strolled over to the squirrel.

"Yes, I was... It was called 'My Dream Girl.' I played a young man who was alone in a big, bad, lonely world and was just looking for somebody to be with and to love."

"That sounds SO romantic!"

"It really was."

The girl giggled a little as Sonic looked at her in such a charming fashion.

"So what's your name?" Sonic asked.

"Sally... Sally Acorn."

"What a BEAUTIFUL name... Mine's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Tails snapped out of listening to Sonic and Sally. He was desperately trying to think of another way to prove they were in a movie. A quick glance around the store brought Tails' attention to a large sign. On it was the store's phone number, "555-2310." This sparked an idea Tails' brain.

"HEY! What's your phone number!?" Tails said, directing his question at Sally.

The squirrel raised her eye brows in suspicion as she looked down at him.

"It's okay darling, go ahead. I'm a police officer," Sonic said in the most charming voice he'd used yet.

"555-3812" Sally responded after giving a nod to Sonic, letting him know she believed him.

"AMAZING! I'm willing to be that EVERYBODY has a "555" number, right?"

"So?" Sonic said.

"SO, that means there can only be 9,999 telephone numbers that can start with 555. With that in mind, how many people live in L.A.?"

"About nine million" Sonic responded.

"AH-HAAAAAAA!" Tails shouted triumphantly.

Sonic gave a quick glance and smile to Sally, then leaned forward a bit, looking at Tails.

"That's why we have a certain little thing called... AREA CODES."

Tails let out a roar of frustration while stomping his feet and clenching his fists.

_"DAMMIT! **DAMMIT!** **DAMMIT!**" _Tails thought.

"Is this YOUR kid?" Sally asked hesitantly.

"Mine? NO WAY. This is an escaped psychiatric patient and I'm taking him down town. Come on, Tails."

Sonic put his hand on Tails' neck and began to push him along. Sonic gave one quick glance to Sally and blew a kiss to her. She smiled at the gesture. Just before they left the store, Tails managed to break free from Sonic's grip and made one last desperate sweep of the store for any proof he might have missed. His eyes then fell on the cashier.

"OK Sonic, explain why this girl is working in a movie store. She's WAAAAAAAY to attractive to be working here!"

Behind the counter on a stool was a tall, sexy, purple cat with yellow eyes in a purple coat and pink boots. Her name tag read "Blaze."

Sonic suddenly had that charming look in his eyes again.

"For once I agree with you, Tails. She shouldn't be working here."

For a second, Tails looked up at Sonic, an excited expression on his face.

"She should be working _'under-cover'_ with us."

Tails buried his face in his hands and sighed in frustration at Sonic's crude comment. He proceeded out of the door and headed towards th car. Sonic meanwhile gave Blaze a quick glance. She looked at him and smiled. Sonic returned the favor as he walked out the door. Outside, Sonic found Tails repeatedly hitting his head against the hood of the Bonneville, clearly frustrated out of his mind.

"Yo Tails! You tryin' to dent the hood of my car or something?"

Tails looked up at Sonic, trying his best to keep his temper under control.

"LOOK... The point I was trying to make with that cashier is that there's nothing but the most attractive women around here. Doesn't it strike you funny that there aren't any AVERAGE women around here?"

"No. That's just how it is here. By the way, thanks for getting me the number for that girl."

Tails rolled his eyes as Sonic walked past and got into the car, jotting down the phone number in a little black book as he past. Once inside, Sonic looked to the fox.

"Look Tails, you might as well just drop this whole movie thing. So far, you haven't even come close to convincing me that this is a movie. Face it, you suck at telling a convincing lie."

Sonic looked away as he fired up the engine. Tails was absolutely furious at this point.

"So what if I told you I can take you to the house where they tortured Silver?" Tails said, gritting his teeth slightly.

Sonic looked back up at the kit and studied his face carefully.

"I _HAVE_ seen it. _ON SCREEN_."

Sonic thought for a second, then reluctantly motioned for Tails to get into the car. Tails didn't even bother opening the door. He jumped up, formed into a ball, and slammed down into the passenger seat. With a side-ways glance at Tails, Sonic threw the car into drive and made haste onto the main road.

"We need to get to the richest neighborhoods around here" Tails said in a low voice.

Sonic didn't say a thing as he drove on.

_"Man, Sonic sure is more of an asshole than I thought,"_ Tails angrily thought to himself.

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I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. And I hope that when I try to describe the anime face expressions (like the seat drop thing) that you all understand what I'm trying to describe.

Just so you know, the next chapter will be the longest yet. It will also set the stage for a lot of what will happen from here on out. I hope to have that up very soon.

And as always, please take the time to leave a review. Even if it's just a few words, that's great. I appreciate them very much since they help point out my faults and strong points.


	15. Vector's Place

A/N- Important notice.

For all of those who have been following this story, and even for those who haven't, there has been a major change made to an earlier chapter. The character "Vanilla" has been replaced with "Rosemary Prower." This was a necessary step, otherwise there would be problems later in the story. If you are interested, you can return to the chapter entitled "A Bad Night" to see to changes that have been made.

That said, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

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**Chapter 15** - Vector's Place

Sonic and Tails had made it across town to one of the richest neighborhoods in the Station Square suburbs. It was here that Tails hoped they would find the house they were looking for, since it was on a street that had an ocean view.

"Vector's house kinda looks like this one," Tails said, pointing to a house. "That's not it though. It's on the other side because it overlooks the ocean."

Sonic was getting really tired of driving around in the hot afternoon listening to Tails' voice. He gave the kitsune a glance of boredom then looked back to the road. Sensing that Sonic was losing his patience, Tails decided to take a bit of a chance. He took out his gold emerald and held it up to Sonic.

"Look Sonic, there's something you should know about this emerald I have here. It's magic. It _really _works. It's how I got here. Any second we could drive right into the world I came from."

Sonic took the emerald from Tails and inspected it. After a moment he shut his eyes and shook his head in disbelief, then tossed it back to Tails. Before he could even think about what he was doing, Tails tried to gain Sonic's interest in it again.

"Weeeeeell... maybe it has to be warmed up first. Yeah! That's it!"

Tails began to tap the emerald with his fingers and shake it around a bit. He tried to give Sonic a reassuring smile that what he was doing would work, but deep down he knew he was making a complete fool of himself.

"Of course... I always have to warm up my decoder ring before I use it," Sonic said in a voice filled with boredom and sarcasm.

Tails lost his temper at this remark. He shoved the ticket back into his pocket, slammed back against his seat, and crossed his arms, all with a sour look on his face.

"_**FINE!**_ Oh, and just so you know, your precious house had a European look to it!" Tails snapped.

They had just reached a culdesac as Tails said this. They would have to turn around, but before they did, Sonic decided to throw in his two cents.

"Oh! You mean like _that _house!" Sonic mocked, pointing as the house directly in front of them.

Tails was about to howl in frustration when his eyes caught sight of the house Sonic had pointed at. A chill ran down the kit's spine. The large white iron gates, the red tile roof, the adobe colored walls, the mass of fancy trees and bushes, and the huge fountains all were instantly recognized by Tails.

"**_JUST_** LIKE THAT ONE!" Tails shouted. "The bad guys are in _there_!"

Sonic looked at the house for a second, then laughed. Tails was quite confused as to what was so funny about the situation.

"You know something Tails, I think _you _should be wearing this," Sonic said as he tossed his badge to Tails.

Still a bit confused, Tails picked up the badge and looked at it.

"I don't think I've earned this, yet."

Sonic turned to Tails and learned over closer to him.

"I think you have. See, you've just revolutionized the entire process of solving a crime. See, all the years I spent at the academy studying human character, psyche of the terrorist, fingerprint analysis, surveillance, hostage negotiation, and criminal psychology are now all obsolete when it comes to solving a crime! Now we can solve crimes in a single day! All we have to do is drive you around a neighborhood and let you point a finger at a house and say _**'THE BAD GUYS ARE IN THERE'**_!"

Tails had been half-looking at Sonic during his rant. Now that he'd stopped, Tails realized that Sonic had said all that because the hedgehog knew that he'd been proven wrong by Tails that he really did know about Vector's house. Tails squinted at the hedgehog and grinned in a smug fashion.

"Hate to say it Sonic, but-"

"What? That you're an annoying little smart-ass?"

"You think you're funny, don't cha? You know that I knew where the house was all along."

Finally the hedgehog conceded.

"Fine... so you knew about the house. Now let's see how right you are about who's inside."

Sonic grabbed his badge back from Tails and was about to drive on when he looked back at Tails.

"And by the way, _I am funny_. I'm famous for my comedy," Sonic said firmly.

"_I'll bet you are,_" Tails said sarcastically while leaning his head back on his seat, facing upwards with his eyes closed.

Sonic mashed the accelerator and sped down the long driveway to the house. He stopped the Bonneville at the bottom of the white marble staircase leading to the front door. The two didn't speak as they exited the car and walked to the front door. Sonic slammed the knocker on the door a few times, then the two waited in silence for a few minutes. The door finally opened as a tall, thin, Asian man with glasses stood before them in the doorway.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, you can. May I speak with the drug dealer of the house, please?" Sonic responded.

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Well, you see, it's _such_ a beautiful day that I thought I'd do the community a favor and kill of some drug dealers today. There's wouldn't happen to be any here, would there?" Sonic said in a polite way.

The Asian man only chuckled and grinned slightly as he turned and shut the door. The two waited a moment but nothing else happened.

"Be ready for _anything_," Tails warned.

"You mean like the bearded lady?"

"Sonic, I'm _not_ kidding."

Sonic was about to respond with another wise-crack when the sound of the door opening stopped him. A large, tall, fat man in a white tuxedo with dark, round sunglasses stepped out. Tails instantly recognized him as Dr. Robotnik.

"I understand you are looking for drug dealers," Robotnik said.

"Yes, I am. I-"

Sonic was interrupted by Tails pulling on his sleeve. The fox motioned for the hedgehog to bring his head down closer.

"Sonic! That's Vector's right-hand man, Dr. Robotnik!" Tails said in a quick whisper.

Sonic looked back up to the Robotnik.

"Sir... are you a right-hand man to a drug dealer?" Sonic asked in a suspicious tone.

"Who's asking?" Robotnik said, just as suspicious.

Sonic flashed his badge in Robotnik's face. The fat man only grinned in response.

"I see. Well, to answer your question, _NO_, I'm not a right-hand man of a drug dealer. I only go so far as being a minor nuisance."

"How so? You steal little kids candy to add to your already fat ass?" Sonic joked.

Robotnik was unimpressed with Sonic's style of humor. He only starred at the two of them, his face void of any type of emotion.

"Will there be anything else, or may I be left to enjoy my day now?

"Yeah, take off your sunglasses," Tails said.

Robotnik and Sonic looked to the little fox. For a second Tails thought Sonic was going to scold him for butting in, but to the kit's surprise, he nodded in agreement. Sonic and Robotnik now looked at each other. Robotnik made no motion to take off his sunglasses.

"You deaf, pal? Lose the shades or I'll take em off myself."

"I don't think so, officer."

"Yeah!? Why!?" Tails said, trying to sound tough.

Robotnik nodded behind them. Out of nowhere, six Doberman Pinschers stood abreast, cutting off their escape route. The two looked back at the dogs.

"Make no mistake... they are _exceptionally _well trained" Robotnik said in a serious tone.

Robotnik snapped his fingers, and right before everybody's eyes, the six dogs assembled into a pyramid on top of each other.

The two returned to face Robotnik. Tails swallowed and was quivering slightly. Sonic, on the other hand, wasn't even phased.

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

Robotnik actually shifted his neck a little. He wasn't expecting this type of answer, but he already knew what to say in response.

"Perhaps _**this**_ will. If I snap my fingers again, then by this time tomorrow you'll be rendered into dog feces. If you don't want that, then all you and fox boy have to do is about face and never come back. Any questions?"

Sonic calmly took out his cigar and his zippo lighter.

"Yeah, two of em," Sonic said as he lit his cigar and began to stoke it. "I could be doing so many more enjoyable things, like rearranging my sock drawers, right now. So why should I continue to waste my time with you when clearly the only thing you're guilty of is acting like an asshole?" Sonic said, his speech slurred by the cigar in his mouth.

Robotnik didn't respond to this question. Sonic meanwhile took his cigar out of his mouth and held it between his fingers in his right hand.

"And second. Tell me... how the hell are you gonna snap your fingers... after I rip off **_both_** of your thumbs."

Sonic topped all of this off by taking a deep inhale of his cigar and then blowing the smoke in Robotnik's face.

"Now lose the damn shades," Sonic said in a dark tone.

Behind them, all six dogs, still in the pyramid, began to growl ferociously. Tails felt his muscles tighten up, as he was almost positive they would have to make a break for it. But Sonic, still virtually unaffected by the threat at hand, held up his hand-cuffs with his left hand. Robotnik looked at th cuffs for a minute and let out a small sigh. He'd finally taken the hint that Sonic wasn't going to be scared off. After a moment, Robotnik whistled and all six dogs dismounted and ran off. He then backed into the door way and started to close it. But just before the door was shut, he stuck his head out and pulled down his sunglasses.

"Have a nice day," Robotnik said, as his white glass eye with a yellow smile face starred out at them. With a final eerie grin, Robotnik retracted behind the door and shut it. Tails immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at Sonic, who was already looking at him.

"He changed his eye, Sonic. He had one with a bullseye when he was with Silver, I'm sure of it."

Sonic nodded slightly then motioned for Tails to follow him.

"He hates his boss, you know. He calls him a reptilian schmuck."

Sonic actually snickered at hearing this. The two then hopped into the Bonneville then drove don the driveway and back onto the main road.

_"Impossible..."_

That's what Robotnik was thinking as he stood with his ear still held against the door. He'd heard everything Tails had just said. He stood in silence, unable to comprehend how the fox had known so much, including his name.

"Dr. Robotnik... could I see you for a moment?"

Vector's voice had echoed through the silent house from the top floor. Robotnik slowly started to make his way upstairs, still pondering over all he'd just heard.

_"How did that little fox know all that? How'd he know my name? It's impossible... I've never even SEEN that kid before..."_

Robotnik found Vector waiting in the lounge room on the second floor. The reptile had his back to him at the moment.

"How did they find out about us?"

The question was asked in a sinister tone. Robotnik stayed silent while resting his hands on the couch in front of him. He hadn't been listening to Vector, as his thoughts were still on the little fox.

"Will you answer me!?"

Robotnik still didn't answer. In fact, his eyes were on his hands that he was nervously rubbing together, not Vector.

"HEY! WHAT'S WITH YOU!"

Robotnik's thought's were finally broken by Vector's voice. The croc. had turned around, revealing his now red-shaded face and deep, angry breaths.

"We... uhh... we should... uhh... change the funeral arrangements," he said nervously, still thinking about the fox.

"Are you crazy! When I say there's going to be a blood bath, there is..."

Vector pointed at Robotnik to finish his line.

"A bloodbath..."

"Good... I see we are on the same line."

_"Page, you damn fool," Robotnik thought._

The big man headed for the door, then stopped.

"I'm going to find out more about Sonic's little fox friend."

As Robotnik made his was down the staircase he called for the servant.

"Tanaka, prepare my vehicle. And inform the men we are going on a mission."

"Yes, Dr. Robotnik."

Tanaka proceeded through the front door, followed by Robotnik. As Tanaka went off to a near-by garage, Robotnik stood on the front step. A few minutes later, Tanaka pulled up in a classic Lincoln Continental, followed by a black van. Tanaka Stepped out of the car and opened the rear door for Robotnik.

"Sir, I assembled the best men we have. They will follow us in the van."

"Very good, Tanaka."

Robotnik had just gotten comfortable in the back and Tanaka had just gotten in when Vector showed up next to the car, knocking on the window. Robotnik rolled down his window and Vector stuck his head in. Vector then handed a piece of paper to Tanaka with an address on it.

"That's the only confirmed address we have for Sonic. It's not his house, but he goes there all the time."

Tanaka nodded and started the engine. Vector now looked to Robotnik.

"Robotnik, find out who talked and kill them. If it was that fox, kill him. If it was somebody else, kill them as well as the fox. Then kill Sonic. That hedgehog, or _anybody_ for that matter, will **_NOT _**foil my plans. Do you understand me?"

Robotnik slowly nodded. He then signaled for Tanaka to proceed. With that, the Continental and van drove down the driveway and then off to the main road. Vector watched intently as the two vehicles left.

_"Sonic will not foil my plans. I will stop him at all costs... even if it means losing Robotnik."_

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A/N- Phew! Long chapter! Hope that you enjoyed it. And as always, reviews are always welcome, encouraged, and appreciated.

Also, I would like to mention again the change made to the story that was described at the beginning of the chapter. If you have not acknowledged this message yet, please do so.


	16. Bad Memories

A/N- Important notice.

For all of those who have been following this story, and even for those who haven't, there have been a few more changes made.

First off, in chapter 2, "Sonic vs. Shadow," Shadow was previously described as using an ax as his weapon. This has been changed to him using a chaos emerald to add more of a Sonic-esque feeing to the story. Also, the brief appearance of Cream in chapter 14, "Movie Proof," has been replaced with a brief appearance of Blaze. Both modifications were made because it would have cause conflicts in later chapters.

That said, here's the next chapter. This is a sad chapter. Just warning you.

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**Chapter 16** - Bad Memories

By now it was late in the afternoon. Across town Sonic's Bonneville pulled up to a small, one-story house that was situated on the side of a hill. Stilts protruded from the bottom of the house to keep it level on the hillside. Sonic parked the car at the tip of the driveway as he and Tails were finishing a "discussion" about what they'd just learned at Vector's place.

"Come **_on _**Sonic! You know that guy has got to be guilty of _something_!" Tails said as he flew out of the car and landed outside of it.

"I already told you what he's guilty of; _Being an asshole_."

"Well, couldn't we have arrested him for threatening us with those dogs?"

"HA! You think it would have been that easy? To arrest somebody like him I'd have to arrest half of Congress to even get close to him. He's probably got more connections that a telephone switchboard," Sonic said as he got out of his car.

As the two of them started walking up the driveway it occurred to Tails how far away they had parked from the house.

"Hey... why'd we park way the hell back here?"

"In case my ex-wife is home."

"You don't need to worry about that, Sonic. She's not there. Her name wasn't in the movie credits."

Sonic stopped in his tracks and grabbed Tails' sleeve. His face showed obvious signs of irritation as he looked at the fox.

"Tails... Who does the doctor treat?"

This was the last thing Tails had expected to hear and his mind began frantically trying to come up with an answer.

"Uhh... patients?"

"Look at the elbow of my jacket. What's it doing?"

Now even more dumbfounded, Tails looked at the frayed material of the jacket.

"It's... wearing thin?"

"BINGO!"

Sonic walked on towards the house as Tails stood trying to make sense of what Sonic had just said.

_"Patients... wearing thin? What the hell was he-"_

A sweat drop formed on Tails' head as he finally figured out what Sonic said.

_"Talk about a stretch" _the kit thought to himself.

Tails shrugged off the comment and started up the driveway. Just as he caught up with Sonic he spotted a huge, black Ford pick-up truck with flam decals and monster-truck tires on it parked in the open garage of the house. Such an impressive machine instantly caught Tails' young mind.

"WOW! Is this what you drive on the weekends!?"

Sonic scoffed at Tails' excitement.

"Yeah right! Does that look like something **_I _**would drive?"

Before Tails could inquire who's truck it was, they'd reached the front door of the house and Sonic pushed Tails in front of the door while he stood off to the side.

"Knock on the door" Sonic ordered.

Tails rolled his eyes and did as he was told. After knocking on the door a few times, Tails turned his head to face Sonic.

"I'm telling you, Sonic. Your ex-wife isn't here. Trust me."

The door suddenly opened in front of Tails. Tails' eyes shot wide open and his heart slammed into his ribcage at the sight before him. It was a pink hedgehog with a giant tuft of pink hair on her head currently dressed in a white bath robe.

"S... _S_... **_Sonia_**?" Tails managed to breath out.

"That's me, Charmy," Sonia responded in her cute voice.

"I'm... I'm not Charmy."

"WHAT!? Then who are you!?" Sonia said, her voice sounding a bit threatening.

Tails desperately looked to Sonic. He was certain that if he didn't do anything he would take a pounding from Sonia. Thankfully, Sonic took action.

"Calm down sis," Sonic said coolly as he stepped in front of the open door.

Sonia instantly squealed with excitement upon seeing Sonic then ran forward to playfully jump up and hug Sonic. He caught her in mid-air and slung her over his shoulder and walked into the house. For a moment Tails stayed behind. He'd seemed to have lost the ability to move having been confronted by probably the only girl he'd ever cared about. But he knew he'd have to keep himself under control. After all, Sonia was Sonic's sister. With that in mind, Tails calmed down and regained his composure. He entered the house, shutting and locking the door behind him, and proceeded to the living room. Tails found Sonic and Sonia lovingly hugging each other. Behind them, a row of floor-to-ceiling windows gave a fantastic view of the neighborhood. Finally, the two hedgehogs finished their greetings.

"So, who's your little friend? He's...cute," Sonia said, looking over at Tails, smiling a little.

"Trust me, he's not cute. He's **_hopelessly_** insane. Five-to-one odds says that pretty soon he's gonna say how much he loved your performance in some past movie."

"This is her first movie, Sonic" Tails said, still smiling at Sonia.

Sonic turned around to see Tails smiling and blushing a bit from Sonia's comment. He gave a look to Tails as if to say "Don't get any big ideas." Tails' smile grew a little less at this look, but he was still blushing a bit. Sonic then returned his look to Sonia.

"And who the hell is Charmy?"

"Oh, don't worry about him. It's just this thing the school system is doing. Girls get assigned a high school freshman and when they come to the door, they kiss them."

Outside of Sonic and Sonia's view, Tails lightly slapped himself upon his head.

_"Dammit... if I'd played it cool, I could have kissed her!" Tails thought._

Sonic only looked at Sonia as if what she'd just said was a joke.

"Do you **_have_** to kiss him?"

"Oh, will you relax!" Sonia said, playfully slapping Sonic's shoulder. She then turned and ran into the doorway of another room, but stopped before she went in. "Alright you two, I'm gonna go freshen up. If anybody calls for me, tell them I'll be out in about an hour, OK?"

Sonia disappeared into the room, leaving Tails and Sonic alone. Tails still had a smile on his face from Sonia. Suddenly, Sonic started to turn around to face him. Not wanting to get another homicidal glare from Sonic, Tails absent-mindedly started fidgeting with whatever was closest to him. Turns out the nearest thing to him were a few wads of one-hundred dollar bills in a gold tin. Tails looked back up to find Sonic looking right at him. The kit quickly withdrew his hands, expecting Sonic to be furious. Surprisingly, Sonic only laughed a bit.

"Don't worry. They're fake. It's old evidence from a counterfeit case a few years ago."

Sonic walked over and handed one of the wads to Tails.

"Check it out. They look real, don't they?"

Tails carefully studied the bills. All the markings and images were correct. There was even a bar code on the bill, meaning it had been printed on the kind of paper real bills are normally printed on.

"They **_do _**look real," Tails said, impressed.

"What's really awesome is when you burn them. It turns the smoke funny colors."

"Wait a second... what are you doing with counterfeit bills, Sonic?"

Sonic only smirked and winked at Tails.

"...You spend em...don'tcha?

"Only on stupid little things not worth wasting **_real _**money on, like..."

Sonic began feeling around his pockets, looking for something.

"Like?..." Tails said.

"Like cigars."

Sonic took the wad back from Tails and took a bill from the top. He then put the rest of the bills back in the tin and picked up the whole tin.

"I think I'll put these away. Don't want my little secret to get out, eh?"

Tails only shook his head and laughed a little. Sonic opened the drawer and dropped the int inside. But as he did so, he saw Sonic's expression change. It went from the mild look of delight he had from discussing the bills with Tails to one of horror and despair.

"What's wrong, Sonic?"

Sonic quickly shut the drawer and looked out the windows behind him for a few seconds. He then walked to the front door, not even looking at Tails, and left the house. Tails could hear the Bonneville start up and drive away at a slow pace. The fox couldn't figure out why Sonic had changed moods so fast. He decided to check the drawer that Sonic had been looking in. He opened the drawer and found his answer. Next to the bills was a photograph in a picture frame. It was Sonic with his son Mach on his shoulders. Tails' ears drooped at seeing this. He shut the drawer and laid down on the couch, feeling sorry that he hadn't tried to comfort Sonic. Within a few minutes, exhaustion overcame Tails from running around all afternoon and he drifted off to sleep.

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Meanwhile, it was getting dark outside. Sonic was taking the longest way he knew to the nearest store that sold cigars. The hedgehog drove on deep in though, not paying much attention to where he was driving. His thoughts were drifting to something that haunted him day in and day out.

_**(Flashback) **_

It was a few years ago on a dark, cold night. It was Christmas time and Sonic was on the roof of his son's school.

_**(End Flashback)**_

Sonic was brought back to reality when his car ad drifted into the opposing lane and was about to collide with an oncoming car. Sonic swerved back into his lane and continued onto his destination. He finally made it to the store and got some cigars. When he came back out of the store he went back to and sat down in his Bonneville but didn't start it. He drifted back to his previous thoughts.

_**(Flashback)**_

Sonic was on the roof on his son's school, along with a frightened group of children being held hostage. In front of him, an enraged and bleeding black hedgehog with red highlights named Shadow, Sonic's long-time enemy, fired a chaos spear right at him. Sonic dove through the air and landed next to his Desert Eagle handgun, the chaos spear missing him by about an inch. He picked up the gun, pointed it right at Shadow and pulled the trigger.

"**DAD!**"

_**(End Flashback)**_

Sonic was once again brought back to reality when a pimped-out coupe with it's sound system set to nuclear bass pulled up next to him. He quickly started his car and began to make his way back home. Halfway home, however, Sonic could feel his thoughts wanting to wonder again. Knowing that this torture would not end until he'd let his thoughts take the path they were going to, Sonic drove onto a small side road, parked the car on the shoulder or the road, and shut of the engine. The hedgehog laid his head down on the steering wheel and let his thoughts take him over.

_**(Flashback)**_

Sonic pulled the trigger and the massive Desert Eagle blasted a hole into Shadow's chest. Shadow began to stumble backwards towards the edge of the roof.

"DAD!" Mach shouted, trying to run forward to his father.

But as Shadow fell he grabbed Mach's arm and began to pull him over the edge of the building with him. Sonic's eyes lit up in terror as he saw this occurring. He instantly sprang to his feet and sprinted towards his son. With a scream, Mach was pulled over the side of the building by Shadow. Sonic dove over the side and held onto the edge of the building with his left hand while he shot out his right hand to Mach. The little blue hedgehog frantically reached up and just managed to grab hold of Sonic's hand. With every ounce of strength the two had they held on as tight as they could. But no sooner had Sonic and Mach managed to grab each others hand when they both felt a powerful tug. Sonic looked down and saw that Shadow, despite having been shot in the chest, was somehow still alive and was still holding onto Mach with his right hand. He even still had his black chaos emerald in his left hand. Mach was crying and squealing in fear as Sonic tried desperately to hold on. But ever so slowly, Sonic could feel Mach's hand sliding more and more downwards.

Sonic clenched his hand as hard as he could, to the point where it hurt. But to Sonic's terror, he could still feel his son's hand slipping more and more. He looked down at his son who's face was full of fear, but as he was looking down, Sonic caught a glimpse of Shadow. Shadow slowly looked up at Sonic. The most evil smile imaginable crossed Shadow's face as his blood-red eyes stared up at Sonic. Sonic now looked just as terrified as Mach and he looked back to his son. But not even a second later, Sonic felt something that made his blood run cold and his breathing practically stop. He'd felt Mach's hand slip the last bit and come free. As if in slow motion, still hanging from the side of the building, Sonic watched as his son and Shadow plummeted towards the ground. Mach was wailing at the top of his lungs while Shadow was still smiling that horrible smile. Within seconds, the two disappeared into the shadow of the school. And then came a sound that nearly made Sonic lose his conscience. There were two loud thuds, and Mach's screams were cut short. Then was complete silence. No voices from below, no sirens, no radio chatter, NOTHING.

For a few seconds, Sonic stared down at the shadows. Then, he somehow found the strength to throw himself back up onto the roof but immediately fell to his hands and knees. Tears ran down Sonic's face as his whole body wretched in anguish.

"No..._no_...**_NO_**... this can't be happening... this **_CAN'T_** be happening... Not ,my son... Oh God not my son... NOT-"

Sonic shot up on his knees and threw up his arms, staring into the sky.

**_"MAAAAAAAAAAAACH__!"_**

Sonic fell back down onto the roof, completely flat, crying and shrieking at the top of his lungs. With one last breath, Sonic let out one last yell.

"**_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_**"

**(End Flashback)**

Sonic woke up with a gasp. He'd fallen asleep after he laid his head down. He noticed that it was now almost completely dark and much later in th day. He also noticed he was in a cold sweat and was shivering. After breathing heavily for a few minutes, Sonic managed to calm down enough to start his Bonneville and drive on. But even as he drove, the nightmare still haunted him. It was always the same, day after day, night after night.

_"Mach... I'm so sorry... If I could make it up to you... I would" _Sonic thought as he drove on.

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**A/N** - There ya go. Now you can see why Sonic is so troubled.

Good news for action fans. The next chapter sets the stage for another big action sequence. I hope it will please many people once it is put up.

And as always, all comments and criticisms are welcomed. Just leave a review.


	17. Romance & an Unwelcome Guest

**Chapter 17**** - Romance & an Unwelcome Guest**

Back at Sonia's house, Tails woke up from his nap on the couch. A quick glance at his watch told him that it was now eight P.M. Tails sat up and stretched, expecting to see or hear Sonic somewhere in the house. To his surprise, he wasn't there, nor was Sonia. It was now quite dark, so Tails went over to the small desk where the picture from earlier was and clicked on the lamp that was sitting on it. The kitsune's thoughts drifted back to what he'd seen inside the desk earlier and he decided to take another look at the photograph inside. He opened the drawer up and picked up the photo. Sonic and his son looked so happy in the the picture. They both had huge smiles on their faces and little Mach looked like he was having a blast riding on his father's shoulders. Unnoticed by Tails, Sonia had entered the room and saw him looking at the picture.

"My brother looked at that before he left, didn't he?"

Tails jumped slightly from not hearing her enter the room, but he looked at the pink hedgehog and nodded.

"I thought so. I saw him leave through my window. He wasn't acting like his usual self, and I know that look on his face all too well."

Tails took one last look at the picture then put it back in the drawer and shut it. He then turned to face Sonia. She was now dressed in a red top, a purple skirt, purple and red boots, long purple gloves, purple socks, and a gold belt around her waist. She looked a little sad, undoubtedly from the conversation they were having.

"He would have been your age if he was still alive," Sonia said, with obvious sadness in her voice.

"I know. Shadow killed him three years ago. He pulled him down off the roof of his school. Your dad saw all of it. He tried to save him, but he couldn't..."

"How did you know all of that?"

Tails paused for a moment. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to bombard her with how he'd seen it in a movie. Instead, he decided to take a more realistic approach to answering her.

"Well... Sonic's name is in the media a lot, and I like crime stories."

"Yeah, tell me about it... About the media, that is."

Tails giggled at her comment. Sonia sat down on the couch he'd been napping while Tails just stood where he was. After a moment or two, she looked back at the fox.

"You're allowed to sit on this couch, ya know!"

This caught Tails off-guard. His eyes widened a bit and he could feel himself blushing a bit. Not wanting to seem like a stranger, he took up Sonia's offer. Slowly, Tails made his way over to the couch and sat down on the opposite side from her.

"Now, isn't that better?"

Tails nodded, his face bright red with blush.

"So, just who are you, anyway?"

"Well... I sorta... stumbled upon some information on Sonic's case... and I'm helping him with it," Tails managed to get out, trying to conceal his nervousness.

"I figured it was something like that. So do you have a name, or should I just call you... _fox boy_?" she teased.

Tails blushed a bit more at hearing this and figured he'd better tell her his name, because "fox boy" just wouldn't work.

"Well, my name is Miles Prower... but everybody calls me... Tails."

Sonia playfully giggled at this.

"Tails, huh? You know... Tails... you're really cute... especially those two bushy tails of yours," she said in a charming way.

Tails' throat was so tight he felt like he was being strangled, but he knew he had to answer.

"I... I think... you're cute too..." Tails just managed to squeak out of his throat that was so tight he felt like he was being strangled.

Sonia giggled a little bit at this, but Tails was frozen by what he'd just admitted. He could only stare at the pick hedgehog in front of him and wonder what she was thinking after such a comment. As she turned to face him once again, his stomach started knotting up, wondering what she was going to say. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she started sliding across the couch, getting closer to Tails until she was right next to him. She then rested her wrists on his shoulders and wrapped her hands around his neck.

"Ya know, a lot of boys have said that to me, but you're the first one that's seemed serious when they said it."

"R...r...really?"

"Mm-hmm. And trust me, I've met a lot of boys, but none of them have been like you."

Despite turning a shade of dark red from blush and losing the ability to talk, Tails manage to lay his hands on Sonia's shoulders and put his hands around her neck like she was doing to him. Slowly, the gap between their faces was narrowing.

"Sonia..." Tails whispered as he looked into her emerald eyes.

"Tails..." Sonia whispered in the same way while looking into his cyan eyes.

When their faces were an inch apart they both closed their eyes. But an instant before they met, there was a hard knock on the front front door.

"Oh you have _**GOT**_ to be kidding me! Of all times he picks _**NOW**_ to show up!" she said, opening her eyes and looking towards the front door..

"Just ignore it. It's not Sonic. He would have let himself in. Whoever it is isn't important," Tails said passionately while stroking Sonia's soft pink hair.

"It's probably that little twerp, Charmy. I really don't feel like kissing him," Sonia said, as she looked back at Tails with a slightly disgusted look from being disturbed.

"I'll get rid of him for ya," Tails said with a smile.

"Thanks Tails," she said, stroking Tails' bangs while smiling at him.

Sonia sat back and let the little fox get up and head towards the door. As Tails walked to the front door his heart was beating hard against his chest and he couldn't keep a smile from crossing his face. Sonia, the only girl Tails had ever cared about, actually liked him. What's more, she wanted to kiss him. And not just a little peck on the cheek, but a full kiss on the mouth. And all Tails had to do was get rid of this "Charmy" and he could pick up where he left off. With that glorious thought, Tails put his hand on the door knob and opened it.

"Get lost, dork," Tails said as he opened the door.

Instead of staring at what he thought was Charmy, Tails found himself staring at a group of seven partially-roboticized men dressed in black, three of them with shot guns ,three with sub-machine guns, and one with a revolver. And in front of all of them Tails saw a huge, fat man in a white tuxedo with dark glasses.

"Hello, fox boy."

Tails looked straight up into the hawk-nosed, moustached, and cold face of Robotnik. For a second, Tails only stared with a nervous smile on his face as a sweat drop formed on his head. He then frantically tried to slam the door shut, but Robotnik reached out and threw the door back open with his arm, slamming Tails against the wall and pining him there. Robotnik let the seven semi-android men pass by as Robotnik pushed the door as hard as he could against the door, making sure Tails couldn't escape. Tails struggled about in pain, trying desperately to get free while the men took up different positions in the house.

"Tails, what's going on? Did you get rid of Char... AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sound of Sonia's scream made Tails freeze with terror.

"Oh-ho! Are we finished now fox boy?" Robotnik asked in a cruel way.

"YOU SON-Of-A-BITCH, BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU HURT HER!" Tails roared as he now began to put every ounce of his energy into getting free.

Robotnik suddenly let go of the door and let Tails out, but the fennec had been trying to hard to push off of the wall and get free that he flew across the hallway and crashed into the wall. The impact stunned Tails, as his head took some of the impact. Robotnik laughed at seeing the fox hit the wall, then picked him up by his twin tails and slung him over his shoulder. When Robotnik reached the living room he dropped Tails to the floor. Tails groaned in pain from having taken two hard hits in such a short time. But as soon as Tails recovered, he tried to stand up and attack Robotnik, but a roboticized man with a shotgun right behind him pulled Tails back by his neck. Though the pain in Tails' neck was bad from the man's grip, it was blocked out when he saw another man restraining Sonia by locking her arms upward in his arms. Robotnik now turned around and took off his glasses and looked down at Tails.

"Good evening, fox boy. Is that bastard Sonic around?"

"No. He's off tracking a lead to bust your ass," Tails said with anger in his voice.

The thug restraining Tails frisked the kit's pockets and threw his wallet and then, to Tails' horror, the gold emerald, to Robotnik. As he did so, Sonia tried to break free and started screaming as the man holding her tightened his grip. Robotnik winced at hearing the scream and turned to the man.

"Would you please teach the girl to shut up!"

The thug nodded and started to drag Sonia out of the room while she was thrashing about. Tails also began to thrash about and try to pull away from his restraints.

"DAMN YOU ROBOTNIK! IF YOU EVEN HARM A SINGLE HAIR ON HER HEAD I'LL-"

"Stop!" the fat man shouted.

Robotnik walked over to Sonia. He ran two fingers through her hair then plucked one out of her head, making her flinch from the pain. He then walked over to Tails and held the strand of hair in front of his eyes and pulled it taunt until it broke in half.

"You were saying?" Robotnik said menacingly.

Tails got a good look at Robotnik's eyes. His right one was gray and it stared at him with no emotion at all. But it was the glass eye that made the hairs on the back of the fox's neck. The glass eye was all red with a black cat's-eye slit on it. Convinced that Tails was done trying to be tough, Robotnik pulled over a chair and a small end table. He placed Tails' possessions on the table then sat down in the chair.

"Now, if you're quite done trying to act like a hero, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Tails decided to ease off a bit. He didn't want to push the envelope too far, but that didn't get rid of the hatred he felt towards Robotnik for ambushing them like he did and causing harm to Sonia.

"You see, fox boy, I only met you a few hours ago and I barely know anything about you. Yet... you seem to know a lot about me. For example, how do you know my name?"

This was not the type of question Tails was expecting. He thought he'd be pressed to reveal where Sonic was. In all honesty, Tails didn't know how to answer this question, but not answering would be the worst thing to do right now. Still whatever he thought up wouldn't be good.

"...Sonic showed me some mugshots of you... And your face sticks out like a sore thumb, so I knew it was you."

"Hmph... That's interesting, fox boy. Quite interesting that Sonic has mugshots of me when I've never even been arrested."

Lightning shot through Tails' nerves. What he'd just said was a big mistake. Robotnik began to rummage through the wallet on the table until he found Tails' school I.D.

"Hmmm... So your name is "Miles Prower," and you are from... Station Square?"

Robotnik look up to Tails, his face full of interest in the suspicious fox in front of him.

"I'm not even sure where that is, Mr. Prower. When did you get here?"

"...Recently..." Tails responded, knowing once again this was not a great answer.

"Recently? Hmm... That means you must have been here in time to hear me talk with Vector today. In that case, how do you know what I called Vector?"

Tails tried to come up with a believable answer to this question, but as he spoke his answer, he once again felt lightning shoot through his nerves, knowing that what he was saying just wasn't a great answer.

"...I heard a recording..."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh... I see. So there are microphones rigged up in the statues around the house, eh?"

"You wouldn't **_believe_** how many there are," Tails said, trying to sound convincing, knowing full well he wasn't.

Robotnik leaned a little closer to Tails for his next question.

"So how do you know what eye I was wearing at that time?" he said, his voice now growing serious.

"I saw it," Tails shot out, a little too quickly.

"No shit, kid! **_HOW _**did you see it!?"

A gigantic distress droplet formed on the back of Tails' head. He could think of only one thing to say, and it was by far the worst thing he'd thought of at this point. But he had no choice.

"I saw it in a movie," Tails said quietly.

"You saw it in a **_movie_**?"

"There's surveillance cameras hidden in the area," Tails said, hoping to give some credibility to this ridiculous idea.

"You know, I should tell you something..."

Robotnik moved his face to within an inch of Tails'.

"I have killed people a lot _smarter_ and _younger_ than **_you_**."

Tails now felt intimidated. Tails decided to keep it quiet, but that turned out to only be for a short time. Robotnik went back to searching through Tails' wallet. When he was done with that, he began to inspect the gold emerald.

"Well, well, well! Isn't this pretty! Did you steal this? Robotnik asked, holding the emerald up in front for Tails' face.

Tails' eyes widened when he saw this. He knew he couldn't let Robotnik get the emerald and for the first time all night. In an attempt to take Robotnik's attention off the emerald, Tails came up with an idea he thought was good in some way.

"Look, Robotnik. This whole thing is between **_you_** and _**Sonic**_. Leave me and Sonia out of this. If you want anything from us, take the money that's inside that desk over there.

Tails pointed to the small desk where Sonic had put the fake bills earlier. Robotnik raised an eyebrow at this and signaled for one of his men to check it out. To Tails' horror, though, Robotnik pocketed both his wallet and the emerald. A fat man with robotic arms, legs, and an armored chest walked over to the drawer. The man looked shocked when he opened the drawer.

"Holy shit, boss! There must be about two grand in here!" The man said in a robotic-sounding voice as he happily pocketed the money.

"Just a minute!... Let me see those," Robotnik said.

The thug turned the bill over to the fat man and he began to inspect them. An angry look came over Robotnik's face and he threw the bills back at the thug that had given them to him.

"BURN THEM!"

"Burn them, boss?"

"Yes, dammit, BURN THEM! This little fox boy was trying to sucker us in with fake bills! If we used those things the cops would have our asses in a second! **_BURN THEM_**! And I thought I told you to teach her how to be quiet!"

Robotnik had yelled the last part to the thug who still had Soniay restrained by her arms. That thug nodded and began to drag the struggling pink hedgehog in his arms to another room. Tails felt helpless watching her being dragged away, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. Tails looked back across the room just in time to see the other thug throw the money into the lit fire place. How Robotnik knew they were fake was beyond Tails, but that didn't matter. But before Tails could think about anything else, he felt himself being pulled forward and the grip the thug had on his neck went loose. He was now face to face with Robotnik.

"Try something like that again, fox boy, and you **_WILL_** regret it."

"Stop calling me that, you asshole," Tails said coldly, his rage restored back to full-force.

Robotnk threw Tails back at the thug that had been holding him. This time, the man simply held Tails against him with his sub-machine gun, allowing for the numb skin on Tails' neck to relax. Over in the fireplace, a strange reddish-pink smoke started to waft up the chimney from the phony bills. This gave slight comfort to Tails, as this would signal Sonic that there was trouble. Further more, Tails was a bit more relieved that Robotnik and the other men hadn't noticed the smoke. But those feelings were lost when the sound of a door slamming in the back of the house and Sonia letting out another loud scream.

"Ahhhhhh... let's listen to my man teach the little pink **_bitch _**a lesson, shall we?"

Tails was enraged by this comment. His eyebrows arched into a glare at Robotnik and his nostrils were flaring as well. But as angry as he was, there was one thought that had been repeating through his head the whole time.

_"Hurry, Sonic... please hurry..."_

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**A/N** - From one extreme to the other. I hope you enjoyed the little bit of romance in this chapter. I also hope that you are getting excited by the action sequence that is clearly about to take place. The next chapter will be VERY long and will be non-stop action. It will be up ASAP. In the meantime, any comments or suggestions are always welcomed.


	18. Hit & Run

**Chapter 18**** - Hit & Run**

Sonic had just started to turn the corner to the driveway of Sonic's house. He was still a bit shaken by the horrible flashbacks he had a short time ago. But all that left his mind when he looked up and saw pink smoke billowing out of the smokestack of the house. The moment he saw this, he stopped the car and backed out of the driveway, then shut off the engine. Quietly, he made his way up the driveway on foot, trying to see what was going on. When he got close enough, he stopped, as he could finally see them. Through one of the giant windows in the house he could see the partially-roboticized men, Robotnik, and Tails. Just when he was about to start up again, a high-pitched female scream ripped through the silence of the night. A shiver went down Sonic's spine when he heard this, as he knew all to well it was Sonia's scream.

"Alright Ro_**butt**_nik... that's how you want to play it... no problem!...," Sonic said to himself, then started off towards the house.

Inside the house, Sonia let out another scream, but it was cut short by the thug with the revolver slapping her face. She tried to return a punch, but once again she was slapped, falling to the floor again. She jumped up again, her anger building quickly.

"DAMMIT, STOP IT YOU BAST-"

The thug, which had robotic arms but regular hands, had just delivered a hay-maker punch to Sonia's left eye, knocking her down onto her bed.

"That's it..." Sonia said under her breath.

Behind her, the part-robotic man had just drawn his revolver and was about to finish Sonia off. But at the last second, Sonia threw out her legs and delivered a blow to the thug's groin. The thug reared back in pain, dropping his revolver as he did, and crashed into a dresser in the process, which crumbled under the impact. Sonia caught the gun in mid air and shot the thug, killing him. She also cut off a pretend scream to make the others think that she had just been killed.

"Well, guess that'll teach that **_bitch_** to be quiet, eh guys?" Robotnik said to his men, earning chuckles from the six other men in the room.

Tails couldn't hold his anger in anymore. He began to growl ferociously with his teeth bared, revealing his fangs, trembling as he did so. Robotnik heard this as turned around to see the outraged fennec.

"Oh-hooo! Does somebody have an attitude problem? Well, we can't have that, can we?"

Robotnik held out his right arm and a knife on a small robotic arm shout of of his sleeve, dropping the knife right into his hand.

"That's **_such_** a great little toy! I invented it, you know," the fat man said with a chuckle.

Robotnik then pulled Tails away from the thug holding him with his left hand. He then held the knife in his right hand close to Tails' face.

"Now... **_fox boy_**... I'll make you a deal. I'm going to hurt you. But... I'll only hurt you a little bit if you tell me where I can find the bastard of a hedgehog Sonic."

That was the last straw for Tails. He paused for a moment, glaring at Robotnik. He then snorted and spit a large wad of mucus into his captors face. Robotnik closed his eyes as the mucus hit him and dripped down his face. He took out a tissue and calmly wiped it off, then opened his eyes and looked right into Tails' glare.

"Alright fox boy... have it **_your_** way."

In a lightning fast move, Robotnik turned Tails around with his left arm and wrapped his arm tightly around Tails throat, holding him in place and choking off his air supply. He then placed the knife at the base of his throat. The cold steel blade easily found its way through Tails' fur and he could feel it resting against his skin. He shut his eyes and braced himself, expecting any second for it to tear open his skin and spill his blood.

"**FREEZE ASSHOLES!**"

The female voice came form behind them. Tails knew it was Sonia, but he could see her. What he could see was all the thugs point their guns at Sonia's location and he could feel Robotnik look over his shoulder.

"Tell these pieces of shit to drop their guns or I'm redecorating this room in brain matter and blood, **GOT IT!?**" Sonia shrieked, her voice filled with boiling rage.

Robotnik spun his whole body around, revealing Tails in his grasp and the knife to his throat. Tails now got a good look at Sonia. She had the thug's revolver trained on Robotnik's head, but she appeared to be a bit startled to see that Tails was in danger.

"Listen, you pink bitch. You kill me, then I'll kill him, and they'll kill you."

Everybody stood in silence. The thugs had their guns pointed at Sonia, Sonia with her gun pointed at Robotnik, and Robotnik with his knife against Tails' throat. A sudden knock on the door made everybody jump.

"Somebody check the damn door!" Robotnik ordered.

Two of the semi-cyborg men, one with a pump-action shotgun and one a double-barrel shotgun, ran for the front door, readying their weapons as they went.

"Looks like that bastard Sonic showed after all." Robotnik said, causing Sonia to glare even more fearsomely at Robotnik.

Down the hall the two thugs had just reached the door and opened it forcefully, pointing their guns out of it. Outside the door, a small bumble bee wearing a black jacket, black helmet, and goggles was hovering in mid air.

"Hi... uh... I'm Charmy... is... is Sonia around?" the bee asked in a shaky voice with a nervous chuckle.

The two thugs were completely dumbfounded by what they'd discovered.

"Uhh... boss!?" The one with the pump-action shotgun said.

Robotnik, and all of his men for that matter, turned their attention down th hall to the front door. They were just as confused as the goons at the door. Robotnik had started to spin back around to face Sonia and ask her who the kid was at the door. But as he was doing so, he stopped, for his eyes had fallen upon something else that caught his attention. Standing on top of a glass skylight window was a blue hedgehog dressed in an all-too-familiar attire. Sonic made eye contact with Robotnik and gave him his signature smirk and waved in a taunting manner. The fat doctor had just enough time to give Sonic an angry glare before Sonia spin-dashed his way through the window and landed in the middle of the room right next to two goons with sub-machine guns. Before either goons, one with a robotic head and one with robotic joints, could react, Sonic grabbed their guns while they were still in their hands and pointed them at each other. He pulled the triggers of both guns with the goon's hands, killing both of them, then let them fall to the floor.

"Hi guys! What's up!?" Sonic said coolly, as if nothing had just happened.

The last goon with a sub-machine gun, who had robotic hands and feet, tried to point his gun at Sonic. Before he could, Sonia, who still had the revolver from earlier, pointed her gun at the thug and emptied the rest of the bullets into him, killing him.

"Nice shooting, Sonia!" Sonic said, turning to his sister.

Behind Sonic's back, Robotnik had just released his grip on Tails, who fell to the floor, and made a motion to throw his knife at Sonic.

"Sonic, look out!" Sonia shouted.

Sonic spun around in time to see Robotnik winding his arm back.

"Die you bast-"

"SHUT UP!"

Robotnik's sentence had been interrupted by Tails. Despite being short on breath from being chocked for so long, he had helicoptered his way up into the air and delivered a double-footed kick to Robotnik's face. With a yelp of pain, Robotnik stumbled backward and hit his head on the wall, knocking him out. Tails looked back around to Sonic, who gave him a look of approval for what he'd just done. But there celebration was cut short. The goon with the pump action shotgun at the door, who had the entire lower half of his body roboticized, was now storming up up he hallway to the living room.

"Tails! Sonia! Hide!" Sonic shouted.

Tails, still flying, flew over to Sonia, took her hand, and pulled her safely back into her room. Meanwhile, Sonic had just enough time to take cover as the goon entered the kitchen adjacent the living room and fired off multiple rounds into the wall, which went straight into everything in the living room. Once the shooting had stopped, the half-robotic man walked into the smoke and dust filled room, his shot gun pointed outwards, ready to shoot anything that moved. Suddenly, in a blue blur, his shot gun left his hands and Sonic appeared right in front of him with his shot gun.

"Shoulda kept you day job, buddy." the hedgehog said.

With a single shot to the chest, Sonic killed the goon in front of him. But no sooner had he done that then he heard foot steps behind him. The henchman with robotic arms, legs, and chest had been hiding in another room and was now charging Sonia with his pump-action shot gun. Long before the thug could do anything, Sonic spun around and spotted an instant weakness. He cocked his gun and fired a round right into the approaching mans groin. This caused the man to drop to his knees with a high-pitched wail of pain. Sonic then walked up to him and spin dashed him into the wall, which broke the thug's neck. Once again, Sonic heard foot steps behind him. This time, it was Robotnik. The fat man had gotten to his feet and was trying to run to the hallway for the front door.

"Where do you think you're going, Ro_**butt**_nik!" Sonic shouted, giving chase down the hallway.

Back in Sonia's room, Tails had just heard this and could no longer just sitting around. Before Sonia could protest, Tails made his way to the doorway back to the living room. He had just rounded the corner when he saw Sonic stopped in the middle of the hallway. In front of him was the final thug. This guy, from what Tails could see, looked to be entirely roboticized. But he quickly forgot about this with what he saw next. The thug had been pointing his double-barrel shotgun at Sonic when he rounded the corner. With an ear-splitting discharge, both barrels went off. Sonic dropped his shotgun flew backwards a few feet, yelling in pain as he fell to the floor. For a split-second, Tails was overcome by shock. But the next instant he was enraged.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Tails shouted.

Tails started flying at th last thug at full speed, hoping to hit him and get his gun. His plan did not work out as he'd planned, though. The semi-cyborg managed to hit Tails in his stomach with the handle of his shotgun, causing Tails to drop to the floor, wincing in pain. Tails heard the thug reload his gun, and the next thing he knew, he felt the barrels of the shotgun press against his head.

"So long, kid," he said in a satanic, mechanical voice.

The fox shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

"Yo gear head!"

Tails opened his eyes out of shock. He found that the thug was now looking down the hall. Tails did the same, and to his complete amazement, Sonic was standing, pointing his Desert Eagle at the goon.

"Killing a kid in cold blood... **_BIG_** MISTAKE."

The half-robot made a desperate attempt to point his shotgun at Sonic, but he was far too late. Sonic had spotted the one weak spot on this guy, and that was his un-robotic throat. With lightning-fast reaction, Sonic pulled the trigger of his gun an a single bullet tore right into the thug's jugular. The hit made the thug's grip on his gun go stiff, and he pulled the trigger. Luckily, the only thing that got hit was the floor between Tails and Sonic. Blood pored from the wound as the man made a weird, crackly, robotic gurgling sound. He then fell backwards and hit the floor so hard tat a few pictures hung on the wall fell to the floor. Tails then rolled onto his still aching stomach and looked at Sonic, who had lowered his gun and was now holding his chest, wincing in pain as well. Tails tried to get up quickly, but the pain in his gut kept him from moving too fast. He got up a bit slower this time and made his way over to Sonic. Before Tails could say anything, Sonic looked up and gave him a reassuring look.

"I'm alright, Tails."

Sonic then lifted up his red shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest plastered with shot gun pellets. Sonic then lowered his shirt as Tails let out a labored sigh of relief, as it still hurt enough to keep him from breathing heavy.

"You OK, Tails?"

"I hurts... but I'll be alright..." Tails said with a nod.

At that moment, they heard approaching footsteps. Both of them looked in the direction from which they came, and to their relief, saw that it was Sonia. But the relief was quickly throw aside when they both saw that Sonia's left eye, which had taken a hay-maker punch earlier, was now swollen up and heavily bruised. She could see that both of them were horrified by her injury.

"I'm... I'm alright..." she said, her voice a bit shaky, clearly revealing she was upset.

Sonic walked over to her a took at her injury. His face was void of emotion, but Tails knew Sonic was not happy about seeing this kind of mark on his sister. Tails approached them as they hugged each other. Tails could see small tears forming in the corners of Sonia's eyes when he'd gotten closer. When the two separated, she noticed the bullet holes in Sonic's shirt.

"Don't worry, I had my vest on. And Tails is OK too."

Sonia looked down at Tails and appeared to glance over him quickly. He then noticed that she gave him a quick wink out of her right eye. But before he could respond, the sound of a car patching out caught all of their attention. Sonic sprinted to the deck at the back of the house overlooking the neighborhood. Sonic quickly spotted Robotnik's Continental getting away. He turned around to Tails and Sonia, who had just shown up behind him.

"What are you doing, Sonic?" Tails questioned.

"Gotta catch the Eggman!"

Without another moment of hesitation, Sonic jumped off the deck and ran off at high speeds into the night. For a moment, Tails and Sonia stared out after Sonic, both clueless as to what they should do now.

"Tails, I got an idea! You can use my bike to follow them! Come on, hurry!" Sonia suddenly said.

The fox looked up at Sonia and nodded in agreement. The two of them sprinted to the front door and out it to the garage. Tails had been expecting either a motorcycle or a dirt bike, based on Sonia's use of the word "bike." Turns out, he was wrong with both predictions. Next to the huge pick-up truck was an innocent pink and white girls bicycle, complete with white tires, handle bar streamers, and a small headlight fixture in between the handle bars. For a second, every nerve in Tails' body wanted to resist getting on such a piece of transportation. In the back of the fennec's mind, however, the thought of Robotnik getting away and Sonic in pursuit of him was far too important to ignore. Putting aside his feelings to the bike, he hopped onto it and started to pedal as fast as he could.

"Good luck Tails!" Sonia shouted behind him.

Tails spun his head around quickly to give her a nod, then faced forward again. As he reached the main street, Tails' mind cleared just enough for him to think about what he was doing. A moment ago what he was doing seemed like a great, if not necessary, action. Now, as he pedaled along the dark streets, it became quite clear to him how pathetic this was. He knew that even if he did catch up to either Robotnik or Sonic, what good would he be able to do on only a bike? A sudden drop in Tails' morale made him lose a bit of the adrenaline rush he was having a second ago.

"I can't believe I'm doing this... while I'm on this stupid bike, I missing the best movie action!" Tails uttered miserably to himself.

--

Blocks away Tails, Robotnik's black Lincoln Continental had just did a power slide turn to the right onto a previously quiet residential street.

"Floor it, Tanaka! Let's get the hell out of this place!"

"Yes sir!" Tanaka replied, slamming the accelerator pedal to the floor.

The engine gave a powerful roar and started to accelerate even more. Up ahead, Tanaka slid the car through another tight right turn, barely letting off the gas as they swung around the corner, the tires squealing in protest from the force of the quick turn. The street that they were now on was the fastest route out of the neighborhood. All they had to do was ascend a long hill in the road ahead of them and they were practically home free. The Lincoln drove up the first side of the hill with no trouble whatsoever. In the back of the car, Robotnik let a slight sigh of relief, thinking they'd at least managed to escape. But that feeling was cut short as soon as they got to the apex of the hill. Down the other side of the hill, the headlights illuminated a blue hedgehog, dressed in clothes that Robotnik was getting quite sick of seeing, blocking their escape route.

"What the!? How'd that... Screw it! Tanaka, ram that bastard!"

Down the road, Sonic's ears flicked as the engine of the car in front of him gunned. Sonic smirked as the headlights grew closer, knowing full well the man he was looking for was now within his sights.

"Hello, Ro**_butt_**nik..." Sonic said to himself.

In a flash, Sonic had drawn his Desert Eagle and began to unload shot after shot, the muzzle flash light up a large radius around the hedgehog and the sound echoing up and down the block. Each shot tore through the Lincoln as if it was made of of aluminum foil, leaving a huge bullet hole where it struck.

"DAMN!" Robotnik yelled in fear as both he and Tanaka ducked low to avoid getting shot. Still, the car took a pretty good beating. A turn signal was instantly shot out, the hood and front grille became plagued with holes, and the windshield now had numerous large holes and cracks running through it. When a bullet passed straight through the windshield and missed Robotnik's head by about an inch, the fat doctor became convinced they weren't escaping this way, though he admitted it to himself with a certain amount of difficulty.

"DAMMIT! Tanaka, turn this thing around!"

A few feet in front of Sonic, the Continental started to pull a quick 180 turn to the left. Sonic kept on firing away at the car, causing even more damage. As the 180 turn was executed, it picked up several bullet holes in the side doors, the driver's side mirror was shot off, and both left side hub caps were blown off. Unfortunately, Sonic had missed the tires, his intended target. Now, the car had completely turned around and was heading back up the hill. Sonic looked sourly down at his Desert Eagle.

"Stupid gun!" Sonic said angrily.

But his attention quickly diverted back to the escaping Lincoln and he prepared to fire upon once more. Inside the car, Robotnik could see Sonic raise his hand-cannon and pointed it at them in the rear view mirror.

"Get us to the top of the hill, Tanaka!"

Despite pushing the gas pedal as hard as it could be, the car wasn't fast enough to escape one final barrage of bullets. The last onslaught of bullets shot out a tail light, shot off the license plate, and put numerous holes in the back window. Robotnik was now down on the floor of the car, looking in the rear view mirror as bullets continued to punish the car. One last bullet finally shattered the rear window and shot off the rear view mirror. Robotnik quickly looked around the interior of the car, and to his great displeasure, found that many bullets had found their way into the car, despite the fact that the car had been given armor plating.

"Note to self... next time get stronger armor... like titanium!" Robotnik said quietly to himself.

The Lincoln was now well out of range for Sonic's gun. He tucked it into his belt line and took up chase after Eggman.

_"You're not getting away that easy,"_ Sonic thought.

--

Back on another random block, Tails was still pedaling along, trying to find either Robotnik or Sonic. He had heard the squealing tires and gun shots moments ago, but now they had ceased. He stopped at the top of the downhill street he was on and used his keen sense of hearing to pick up the slightest clue that would lead him to the chase. To his disappointment, he couldn't hear anything that would give him an idea as to where to go next.

"Dammit!," Tails said, stomping his foot holding him up against the ground. "I've lost them! I probably was going the wrong way the whole-"

At that moment, the kitsune's ears flicked. He was sure he'd just heard what sounded like the engine of a powerful car. He looked down the street and strained his ears, trying to see if he had been right. A moment later, he saw the end of the light up, and a car engine was now clearly audible. Finally, a car came around the corner. A jolt went down Tails' spine as he identified it as the same black Lincoln that had fled the house. For a second, being confronted by the enemy froze Tails in his place. He then thought about running to try and find Sonic, as he was sure the hedgehog couldn't be far now. But then he thought of how pointless that would be. The enemy was here now, right in front of him, just begging to be captured. A sudden spurt of confidence came over Tails, and decided it was time for him to be of some use. He reached down and flicked on the headlight on the bike, hoping to announce his presence to the oncoming fiend, which is successfully did.

"Sir! There's somebody up ahead of us! I think they're on a bicycle!" Tanaka informed his passenger.

Robotnik sat straight up, thinking for sure it was Sonic.

"How the hell'd the hedgehog get... Wait, it's fox boy! Guess he wasn't done trying to be a hero after all!"

"Sir, what should we do?"

"Smear that fox's face all over the pavement!"

Tails heard the car's engine gun as it charged up the sloped street. There was no going back now; his enemy had accepted the challenge, and the fox was not going to back down. Taking a deep breath, Tails tightened his grip on the handle bars as adrenaline began to surge through his veins.

"Here we go..." he muttered.

He kicked off from his spot and began to pedal the bike as fast as his legs would let him, charing the approaching Lincoln at full speed. As the slope of the street increased, the bicycle's speed increased even more.

"I've got you, Robotnik!"

For even more speed, the fox spun his twin tails behind him to propel himself to a frightening speed. He was going so fast that his bangs were pushed back flat against his head and his hears were flapping in the wind. As he continued down the street, the car in front of him grew louder and louder.

"This is gonna work... This is a movie, and I'm a good guy... Come on, this has got to work!"

Tails was about a hundred feet from the Lincoln now and closing fast. He was scared, but the thought of seeing that Lincoln ahead of him pulling off to the side and crashing so that Tails could apprehend Robotnik kept him going. Any second Tails expected the Lincoln to swerve and crash, just as he had imagined it. But none of those cases came true. Instead, when the car was about seventy-five feet from him, its high beams turned on, making it next to impossible for Tails to see anything. It was at that moment any confidence Tails had was shattered, as a terrifying thought had come to him.

"Wait... I'm only a sidekick..."

The car was now fifty feet away from him.

"OH SHIT! I"M ONLY A SIDEKICK!" Tails shouted out in horror.

The car was now within twenty-five of Tails, and at these speeds, impact was only seconds away.

"**THIS ISN'T GONNA WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!**" Tails shrieked at the top of his lungs.

Down the street, from where the car had come, Sonic rounded the corner. He'd heard somebody screaming, and his blood ran cold when he saw that Tails was playing chicken with a car when all he had was a bicycle. For only a split second he wondered how Tails could have been so stupid to try something like that. But when he saw that Tails and Robotnik's car were only about five feet apart, he realized that, despite how fast he was, he'd never each Tails in time to save him, and that he would be killed. But at the last possible millisecond, Tails flew up into the sky as the Lincoln plowed into the bicycle, breaking it apart into several pieces, some of which actually got stuck in the front grill. To Sonic's relief, Tails had cleared the car, and he thought he was now safe. But just as the hedgehog was about to take chase after the Continental again, he noticed Tails wasn't as safe as he thought.

"MY EYES! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!"

Unfortunately, the high beam on Robotnik's car had blinded him, and he was completely unable to see where he was flying. In addition, Tails was so scared from nearly been hit by the car he kept flying, unaware of where he was going. As the Lincoln started to escape up the street, Sonic watched helplessly as Tails flew overhead, still screaming, and was now headed right towards a chimney of a house.

"TAILS! LOOK OUT!" Sonic shouted.

Right before Tails collided with the chimney, he managed to throw his arms up over his face to protect himself. Despite that, Tails still flew right into the chimney, hitting it with a horrible thud. As Tails cried out in pain, he rolled down the rood of the house and fell onto a sloped awning over a front porch. Once he slid off that, he landed on a wooden table in the yard with his back, which promptly broke upon him hitting it. Tails didn't move after he'd broken the table, and Sonic began to fear the worst had happened. Looking over his shoulder, Sonic saw the Lincoln had a tremendous lead now and was just about to disappear. As much as he wanted to follow Robotnik, Sonic knew he couldn't leave Tails in his current state. Grinding his teeth with bitter disappointment, Sonic watched as Robotnik's car vanished as it turned off the street and sped away.

"You won't be so lucky next time, Ro**_butt_**nik..."

Sonic now turned his attention to Tails, who had still not gotten up from the pile of wood of what once was a table. When he got over to him, he found him still breathing, but he was hurt and moaning in pain. Glancing over Tails quickly, Sonic saw that there were several tears in the fox's clothing, he had a few cuts that were bleeding a bit on his face, his nose was bleeding, and the hedgehog was fairly sure that Tails might have some bruises, possibly broken bones, but he hoped that nothing had been broken.

"Tails..." Sonic said quietly.

The fennec slowly shifted his head to where he'd heard the voice come from and slowly opened his eyes. Gradually, the vision of a blue hedgehog looking down at him slid into focus. Tails' eyes were still a bit out of whack from having been blinded, but he was sure that it was Sonic that was looking at him. Despite the pain he felt, Tails had an over-whelming feeling of sadness.

"Sonic... I'm sorry... Robotnik got away... I tired to stop him... I tired to get the emerald back...But I didn't get him..." Tails said quietly, a few tears falling out of the corners of his cyan eyes.

Sonic knelt down on one knee so that he was closer to Tails. He shut his eyes and shook his head a bit, a friendly smirk crossing his lips.

"Tails... you think I'm angry at you?"

"Aren't you?" Tails said in a shaky voice, more tears falling now.

"You know how brave you were just now?... don't get me wrong, that was **_really_** stupid... but it was very brave, Tails. You got closer to catching him than I did. How could I be angry with you for that?"

Tails' lips began to quiver a bit, not because he was sad, but rather happy that Sonic, his one and only hero, was actually proud of him to some degree. That meant more than anything to him, and he slowly managed to smile a little bit, Sonic doing the same at seeing the fox's mood improving.

"At least we both caused an ass-load of damage to his precious car, eh Tails?"

Both of them let out chuckles at the joke, but Tails stopped himself, wincing in pain.

"You alright, Tails?"

"My back... really hurts..."

"Anything else hurt?"

"Well... my face and arms a little bit... and nose is sore too... But it's my back that really hurts... I'll try to sit up..."

But no sooner had Tails tried to sit up when he was forced to lay down again, unable to sit fully up yet. Sonic could see that the fox lying before him would not be able to move by himself. Gently, Sonic slid his arms underneath Tails and cradled him in his arms, catching Tails completely off guard. Tails looked up at the Sonic with a look of kindness, which the hedgehog returned as he started jogging home. As they made their way away from the crash site, Tails felt Sonic's grip tighten a bit around him. It was at that moment that Tails realized something. It had been a long time since Sonic had been able to show that type of kindness to somebody so young. In fact, Tails know figured out that what had just happened was the kind of ending that Sonic had been hoping for all those years ago when he tried to save his son, Mach, on the roof of his school.

_"There really is good in him... He really does care about me..."_ Tails though to himself.


	19. Explosive Discoveries

_**A/N -**_ I am SOOOOOO sorry for the long delay since my last update. Long story short, starting college and working on other story ideas has delayed me from updating. Not only that, but I must say now that this is, in fact, my first ever fan fiction story, and when I first wrote it, it was hastily done. As I've been putting the story up here on the website, I've basically been editing and changing much of what I originally wrote. And recently, I decided that there were some things I did not like about this story. I felt as if there was too much still kept from the original movie and not enough Sonic-esque stuff. Therefore, I have gone back made numerous changes to previous chapters to make the story feel as if it took place in a Sonic-style setting. The changes are as follows:

**1.** Previously, the magic item that Tails had in his possession was a gold ticket. Now, it has been replaced with a gold chaos emerald, which is far more appropriate for a Sonic re-write parody like this.

**2.** Previously, Amy Rose was cast to appear in this story. I no longer liked having her play as a false daughter to Sonic in the movie world. Therefore, Amy has been replaced by Sonia the Hedgehog, Sonic's sister from the "Sonic Underground" series. She is cast as Sonic's sister in the story as well.

**3.** The Torelli Mob was the orignal name of the other mob from the movie. To be more original, I've replaced the Torelli mob with the Babylon Rogues. I know this may sound a bit weird, but trust me, it'll work out later. You'll see in a future chapter.

**4.** In this story, I originally used the name "Andy" from the movie as Sonic's son's name. To be more original, I have now made Sonic's son's name "Mach," as in the term associated with speed, for example, "Mach 1."

**5.** In the chapter "A Bad Night," Tails was originally attacked by a random man, again from the original movie. To add more originality, I replaced that man with "Nack the Weasel," A.K.A., "Fang the Sniper." I would suggest you go back and check out this change, as an event that occurs in this chapter now fore shadows a future event towards the end of the story.

**6.** Shadow's Chaos emerald he uses has now been changed to black, instead of red. I just felt like doing this, that's all.

**7.** Another minor change. Instead of snake skin boats, Sonic now wears his original shoes.

**8.** I have re-worked what is done to Silver the Hedgehog after his run-in with Vector and Robotnik in the chapters "Sonic the Hedgehog IV" and "Unexpected Circumstances." I would also suggest you check out this change for sure as it's now much more creative and you might get a kick out of it.

**9.** Before, it was mentioned the first city the story took place in was New York City. I've since changed every mention of New York City with Station Square. This was done, was again, to make the story more Sonic-esque.

**10.** I've re-worked the chapter numbers so that the number of the chapter correctly corresponds with the number next to it on the list of chapters.

Once again, I am so sorry for all these changes and the long wait. But understand, I am so thrilled this story had been bringing so much joy to those who have been reading it, and I want you to enjoy it as much as you can. Therefore, I hope these changes make it more enjoyable and fun to read this story. You can either check out all the changes made by re-reading the whole story, check out only the changes you're interested in, or just continue on and know that the changes have been made.

Now then, enough talk. Without further delay, I present the next chapter!

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**Chapter 19** - Explosive Discoveries

By the time Sonic and Tails got back to the house the authorities had arrived. There were many police vehicles and crime scene investigators about doing their job. Amidst them was Sonia, still standing on the front porch, occasionally telling or motioning to the officers on scene. Sonia saw Sonic approaching, still carrying Tails.

"NO! Is he alright!?" Sonia said as she ran up to both of them.

"He's cool. A little banged up, but cool," Sonic reassured her.

"I'm OK, Sonia," Tails added.

Sonic let Tails down to the ground. His nose had stopped bleeding and his sight was back to normal, though he was still somewhat achy from the collision earlier. Sonia looked relieved at the news, then turned to her brother.

"Sonic, what should I do now? I don't think it's safe to stay here."

"Your right, sis. Go stay with a friend for the time being."

"OK. Thanks Sonic."

The two hedgehogs gave each other a quick embrace, then separated and went into the house. As soon as Sonic was out of sight, Sonia turned back to Tails.

"I'll be right back. Meet me in the garage next to my truck."

Tails nodded and went into the garage as Sonia went inside. A few minutes later Sonia showed up carrying a small suitcase. Tails took this from her and strapped it into the bed of the huge pick up. Sonia had gotten into the driver's seat by now ad Tails flew in threw the open top into the passenger seat.

"You're ready to go, Sonia."

The fennec expected a simple thank you from the pink hedgehog. Instead, he found her hands wrapping around his neck and pulling his head towards hers until their foreheads were resting against each other.

"We never did get to finish what we started earlier, Tails," she said quietly.

Blush light up brightly on Tails' white muzzle. To his surprise, he saw a bit on Sonia's face as well. But as nervous as he was, he knew what was coming. Both closed their eyes and the gap between their lips vanished. Tails ran his hands through the large pink tuft of hair on Sonia's head, then rested them on her shoulders. A slight moan escaped from Sonia as Tails did this, and he couldn't help but return one himself. After a minute or so, the two stopped and looked into each others eyes, Tails' heart throbbing in his chest.

"I... you... we just..._wow_" was all Tails managed to say.

Sonia chuckled at his reaction.

"I'll take that was your first kiss, Tails?"

With another flash of blush, Tails nodded, almost embarrassingly. Sonia laughed at the fox's reaction, then looked back into his cyan eyes.

"Well... you take care of yourself, Tails. Go get those bad guys, OK?"

Tails nodded and gave Sonia a final hug, then hopped out of the truck down the the ground. Sonia gave Tails a quick smile then started up her truck and drove down the driveway, the huge engine letting out a growl of horsepower as she drove off. Tails stood in his place for a moment, a bit dazed, as he could hardly believe what had just happened. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he'd get to kiss the only girl he'd ever had feelings for. But there was no denying it, it had truly happened, and he felt weak in the knees as he stood watching the large pick up disappear down the road.

The sound of another police car pulling up to the house brought Tails back to reality. He decided to head into the house to to see where Sonic was. He found him in the living room, stoking a cigar as he leaned against the wall. He looked a bit tired, but more bored than anything. All around him, crime scene investigators were taking pictures of the damage as well as outlines where bodies had previously been.

For some odd reason, perhaps his sudden boost in happiness, Tails decided this was the perfect time to prove to Sonic he was in a movie. A took a notepad and pen that was laying on a nearby table and wrote a certain four letter word that began with F. He then held it up in front of Sonic's face.

"Say this."

Sonic slowly looked over at Tails.

"You _are_ joking, right?"

"Nope. Now come on, say it."

"Is this another stupid movie proof?" Sonic asked, his patience starting to wear.

"_Maaaybeee_..." Tails taunted.

"Tails, I don't feel like saying it, alright?"

"You don't feel like saying **_what_**?"

"The word!" Sonic said in a raised voice.

"See! You won't say it because you **_can't_**!"

Sonic stomped one of his feet and was now standing upright and looking a rather enthusiastic Tails.

"Is that so!? Maybe I just don't feel like saying it because I'm tired from being attacked and I don't wanna play stupid kids games!"

"You just can't accept it, can you Sonic? You **_can't_** say it because this movie is rated PG-13 so you're not allowed to," Tails said with a triumphant smile, knowing he was right.

Before Sonic could respond, they were interrupted by the sound of wings humming.

"Officer Sonic!?" asked Charmy, the little bee from earlier, had witnessed the entire attack, and was now hovering eye level with Sonic.

"**_WHAT_**!?" Sonic roared, his patience gone.

Charmy leaned back a bit from the harsh response, but decided to speak anyway.

"I just wanted to tell you I got the license plate number off the car of the man with the missing eye."

"Well **_good_** for you!" Sonic snapped.

Sonic turned back to Tails to rebut his earlier statements, but stopped himself short, and turned back to Charmy.

"Wait a second... don't you mean the guy with the **_glass_** eye?"

"No! That's the thing! When he was running for his car, I got a clear look at his face, and his left eye was missing. Kinda gross but cool at the same time!" Charmy said excitedly.

"Sonic, I think he's right! It might have popped out when I kicked Robotnik's head earlier!" Tails said in response.

Sonic was now interested and he raised his voice so everybody in hte house could hear him.

"Hey! Has anybody in here found a red glass eye!?"

"Yeah, it's right here!" a cop said from the room adjacent to them. "Weirdest glass eye I've ever seen, though! It's got words on it!"

"What's it say?" Sonic asked.

"It says... Vengeance... Is..."

"What the hell's _**that**_ supposed to mean?" Sonic asked Tails, but the cop's voice prevented Tails from answering.

"Wait a second... it looks like this thing is two halves that can spin. I just spun the halves around. Now it says 'Vengeance Is Mine.' Hold on a second... why's this thing ticking?"

This comment caught Tails' attention.

"Wait, did you say it was-"

Before Tails could finish he sentence, Sonic grabbed Tails and Charmy and made a dive out of the window they ere standing next to. It was about a fifteen foot drop to the ground since this particular side of the house was on stilts. But about half way down, the entire house blew apart, just like Silver's house earlier. The group landed hard on the ground, but not at full force, thanks to both Tails and Charmy slowing their decent by trying to fly upward. Sonic slowly rolled over to look up at what remained of the house, which was nothing more than some burning support beams and rubble. Tails rolled over too, facing Sonic.

"The eye... I should have known..."

Sonic looked furious.

"Eggman..." Sonic seethed.

Charmy sat up and looked at the remains of the house.

"Man, this is the last time I visit the house of a girl who's father is wanted dead."

Sonic shot Charmy a vicious glare.

"I'll shut up," he said quickly.

The blue hedgehog stood up looking at the remains. He then looked down at Tails. His looks said it all. Eggman was going to pay for this.

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Across town at Vector's estate, Tanaka had been watching a small television screen of what was once the house Robotnik had been at earlier. The image came via a small video camera that had been hidden by Robotnik when they first arrived at Sonic's house. He had watched the house be destroyed by the explosive eye, as well as Sonic and Tails escaping. Knowing that Robotnik may very well be furious that Sonic and Tails had survived, Tanaka took his time making his way to his room. When he got there, he discovered he was not in the bedroom. But there was an adjacent room that the servant went into where he found Robotnik.

This room, in comparison to the bedroom, was downright creepy. There were all kinds of robotic machines and tools on the floor as well as the walls and ceiling. Amongst all this was Robotnik, sitting at a table on the far side of the room, working on some random contraption while watching a television next to him. Next to this table was a truly weird machine. It looked like a tower of glass spheres filled with some sort of blue fluid. In each small sphere was one of Robotnik's many glass eyes. Nervously, Tanaka approached the fat man to break the bad news.

"Sir... I-"

"Let me guess..." Eggman cut in. "Sonic and that little fox Tails survived the bomb, right?

"...Yes sir..."

Robotnik let out a sigh of frustration and then silently signaled for Tanaka to leave, which the servant gladly did so. Once Tanaka had left, Robotnik's eye began to scan his tower of glass eyes, as he had been wearing a robotic eye since he lost his red explosive eye back at Sonic's house. There must have been at least a hundred of so of them. There was one that looked like a normal eye, an eight ball, one with his Eggman symbol on it, one with a fire pattern on it, a tiger stripped one, a zebra stripped one, one that looked like with blue marble with a yellow iris and a black pupil, among many others. Robotnik finally chose an off-white one with a green iris and black pupil. He typed a code into a keyboard on the tower and the sphere with his chosen eye extended outward, the fluids within draining as it did so. Once he took out his new eye, he put the robotic one into the sphere and the blue fluids, which were anti-bacterial fluids, pumped back in once the sphere as it retracted.

"Ahhhhhh... much better," he said to himself, popping the glass eye into his left eye socket.

Remembering he had grabbed Tails' possessions before he left, Robotnik took out the fox's wallet and emptied its contents. He found a few dollars in cash, which he pocketed, numerous pictures, some basic pieces of I.D., and a few old receipts and pieces of junk paper. Seeing that there was nothing intriguing about any of this, Robotnik swept all of it into a waste basket next to his desk. He then pulled out the large gold emerald he'd also grabbed before he left. On one hand he was dazzled by its beauty, but on the other hand, he couldn't figure out what it was or why Tails had it.

"This sure is pretty... but just what the was that kid doing with it? And what's so special about it that **_he_** should have it? I think I'll-"

Robotnik stopped mid-sentence. The emerald had began to glow with a golden light and little blue electric arcs ran over it's surface, though they didn't hurt him.

"What the hell is this thing!?"

Robotnik held the emerald in his hand while staring at it with a puzzling look. He went to lean his hand against the wall as he considered what this emerald was when he nearly fell over. He was sure he was close enough to the wall that he could reach it. And when he looked over, he realized he was. Now the fat man's curiosity peaked, but he was also a bit intimidated as to what could be happening. Slowly and carefully, Robotnik went to touch the wall with his pointer finger. he moment he touched the wall, it went right through it. A bright, white light came out around his finger while a blue aura and electric arcs appeared around it. There was also a weird, high-pitched hum as this was happening.

Eggman instantly retracted his hand and everything stopped. He then repeated this act several times, each time letting more and more of his arm go through, until finally his shoulder started going through the wall. Despite his high I.Q., Robotnik didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was doing or how. It was at that moment an old episode to the classic T.V. show "The Twilight Zone" came on, playing its eerie theme song, which caught Robotnik's attention. Then the narrator spoke the opening line.

"You're traveling to another dimension..."

That's all Robotnik had to hear. It all clicked in his head upon hearing that.

"Am I..."

Robotnik braced his body and prepared to jump through the wall. But just as he went to jump, Vector started to come around the corner.

"**_YOU_**!"

Robotnik quickly pocketed the emerald before Vector could see it and spun around. Before he could speak a single word, Vector approached him and smacked his face. Vector's nostrils were flaring and he was breathing heavily.

"Tanka just told me you failed your mission! What good are you, Robotnik! You go with a whole team of armored men, bring heavy fire power, and even leave a bomb, and **_still_** you didn't get Sonic!"

"We were ambushed by Sonic, dammit! What would you have liked me to do!? He took down two of my men before I could even say anything!"

Vector slapped Robotnik again, even harder than before.

"Don't raise your voice to me, Robotnik! Do it again, and you **_will_** be sorry!"

The crocodile and fat man gave each other sinister glares for a moment or two. The silence was broken by Vector.

"You better not fail me again, Robotnik. Now get some rest, because tomorrow we're gonna rid ourselves of the Babylon Rogues forever and take over this town, and we are going to do it without a **_single_** witch. And if Sonic shows up, we kill him. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah..." Eggman replied darkly.

The two of them exchanged one final glare, then Vector exited the room.

"It's without a **_hitch_**, you stupid bastard," Eggman said quietly to himself.

Robotnik took out the gold emerald once more and looked inquisitively at it. It was still in its active state. He now thought of something he hadn't before.

"This must be how that little fox got here. He must have come from a parallel world, and this emerald was the ticket through."

Looking at the emerald, Robotnik began to pace in his room.

"Well, if that little shit can travel across parallel worlds, then **_I_** can travel across parallel worlds. I can go in, steal, kill, do **_whatever_** I want, and hop back out again..."

At this thought, Eggman stopped pacing, a truly evil smile crossing his face.

"I'd be **_impossible_** to catch. All I have to do is rid myself of Vector, Sonic, and that kid, Tails."

Robotnik stood there with his evil smile, barely able to take in the new power that he'd just realized he had. One last though trickled through his mind, one so sinister it made him chuckle.

"If god were a villain... he'd be me.


	20. A Cop No More

**Chapter 20 - A Cop No More**

The next day found Sonic and Tails sitting in Knuckles' office, taking on another truck load of indecipherable verbal abuse. As per usual, the glass walls of the office had shattered from the echidna's voice. The duo just sat and listened as Knuckles blasted on in his spoken rampage. Or, at least they tried to. The red mammal spoke so quickly and violently that his words sounded like one long, drawn-out, infinite word rather than cohesive sentences. And as if there couldn't be any more drama to this current situation, Knuckles whole body seemed to be convulsing with rage, he had an above average sized anger wart on his head, and smoke was wafting out of his ear canals. Finally, after Knuckles uttered a sentence that could be slightly understood, Sonic leaned over to Tails.

"Did you catch that, Tails?"

The fox only shook his head.

"I think some of it's English, though."

Sonic let a small smirk escape.

"I think he said he either wanted to rip my balls off, or-"

"**THAT'S** **_IT!_**"

Unfortunately, Knuckles had seen the smirk and decided he'd had enough. He slammed his fists down onto his desk so hard the whole thing splintered into a pile of jagged wood onto the floor.

**_"_****I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND YOUR BULLSHIT, SONIC!** **I'LL MAKE THIS NICE AND CLEAR FOR YOU!** **_GIVE ME YOUR DAMN BADGE!_**"

Sonic, still in his tattered and burned clothes from last night, stood up with a fearsome glare at the echidna, who returned the favor. The hedgehog took out his badge and held it in the palm of his hand, then held it out to Knuckles. The echidna made a motion to grab it.

"**AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, YOU WON'T BE GETTING IT BACK!**" Knuckles roared.

Just as the angry red Mobian was about to take the badge, Sonic clenched his fist shut as hard as he could. When his hand opened again, the badge had been crushed into a small wad of metal. Sonic then took Knuckles hand, dropped the remains into his quivering palm, and then closed the echidna's gloved fingers over it. Sonic took a step back and continued to glare at his angry opponent.

"Hope you enjoy your little metallic enema there, Knuckles," Sonic said through slightly closed teeth.

Knuckles whole face contorted with rage as the anger wart on his head grew to an unheard of size, all the while trembling even more intensely.

"What the hell did you say to me!?..." Knuckles said quietly but ferociously through his teeth which were clenched so tightly they were grinding.

"**I SAID STICK IT UP YOUR ASS!**" Sonic shouted, his temper finally breaking.

Before Knuckles could retort, Sonic made a quick exit from the office via one of the broken glass walls. Tails, however, was still riveted to his chair from the display, but that changed the moment the echidna shifted his face to the little fennec. Knuckles' expression could only be described as capable of scaring the grim reaper. Not wanting to take a personal verbal bashing from Knuckles, Tails exited the office through the broken walls as well. Looking around for Sonic, Tails spotted the him at his desk. He made his way to the hedgehog's desk where he found Sonic tossing all of his possessions into a large cardboard box. Sonic didn't acknowledge Tails as he hopped up onto the desk. The fox sat with a forlorn look in his eyes as he watched Sonic, his friend, his hero, his idol, packing up his way of life. To add to this already depressing situation, the whole police station had tuned into the dramatic events and was now focusing solely on Sonic's activities. It ranged from people glancing out of the corner of their eyes to people prairie-dogging over obstacles to see what was going on. But the last straw was drawn when Sonic spotted the last person he wanted to see now was approaching him.

"What are you **_doing_**, Sonic?" Espio asked.

Sonic turned to face the purple chameleon, who was currently dressed in a dark blue suit.

"I'm planting corn! What the hell does it look like I'm doing, Espio!"

Espio wasn't fazed by the remark. This struck Tails as mildly surprising.

"Knuckles took you badge... didn't he?"

"Is that your final answer, or would you like to ask the audience!?"

Espio knew he was right. To Tails' amazement, the chameleon actually smiled warmly and playfully slapped Sonic on the shoulder.

"Cheer up, Sonic. It's not the worst thing."

The look on Sonic's face clearly stated that he'd love to knock Espio out for being so insensitive.

"Tell ya what, Sonic. Screw Knuckles! If it'll make ya feel better, you can come and work with me on my job today."

Sonic turned back to packing up his things to show Espio he wasn't interested. But the chameleon wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Sonic, I'm serious. You don't want to miss out on this one. Something big is going down with the Babylon Rogues and Vector's Chaotix mob today. We just found out that a few days ago, one of it's leaders, Storm the Albatross, was shot and killed. Today's the funeral. It's gonna be on the rooftop of the Station Square hotel across town. Not only that, we've also found out that today's the day that Vector and the leader of the Babylon Rogues, Jet the Hawk, are gonna seal their deal and join forces. Turns out that nobody knows who killed Storm, so that's why both mobs are banding together, to help and protect each other. Think about it Sonic, two mob heads meeting at a rooftop funeral to pay respects to a fallen comrad while joining forces at the same time. There's even gonna be a helicopter monitoring the whole ceremony. Now honestly, doesn't any of this tickle your fancy?"

Sonic had stopped packing upon hearing this and he considered it.

"Storm the Albatross was shot, huh?"

Espio nodded.

"Well, that's quite fitting. All storms go out with a bang, after all."

"Espio laughed at Sonic's pun and slapped him on his shoulder again.

"So you're in then, huh?"

I don't ever remember saying that..." Sonic said, turning back to packing up.

Espio looked disappointed at Sonic's answer.

"Look... if you change your mind, you know where to find me, alright?"

Sonic only nodded slightly. Espio was about to turn away when he caught Tails' eyes. He made like he was going to speak, but Tails shook his head, making it obvious that he was in no mood to talk. For a second, the chameleon and fox looked at each other, then Espio parted from them and vanished into the crowd. As Tails sat there he thought about the story he'd just heard. While the story sounded true enough, Tails still didn't trust Espio. Sure he didn't trust him from other movie's he'd seen him in, but he seemed too friendly and too eager to get Sonic to come with him today. But at the same time, Tails knew they were best friends, and it might have just been a simple offer. Before Tails' razor-sharp young mind could come up with a decision on this matter, Sonic dropped the last of his belongings into the box and started to walk away from the desk, leaving Tails behind.

"Sonic..."

The hedgehog stopped and looked at Tails out of the corner of his eye. Deep inside, Tails' guts were churning. Was he about to be abandoned by Sonic and left to fend for himself? Was Sonic about to tell him to beat it and leave him alone? Was he about to be cursed out for losing him his job? None of these things happened. Instead, Sonic motioned with his head to Tails to follow. They both silently made their way to the parking garage and then, at the slowest speeds Tails had ever seen Sonic drive at, they left the police station and started on their way to an unknown destination.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later in the afternoon, after a lengthy drive across town and a change to clouded skies, the two pulled up a small, dirty, somewhat run-down apartment complex. On the drive over, neither being had spoken a word, though Tails had sneaked a few quick looks up at Sonic, who had never stopped staring straight ahead the whole time. Parking the car in the small lot adjacent the complex, Sonic gloomily got out of the car and retrieved his box of possessions from the trunk with Tails following close behind him. They than began to walk through the complex. As they did, Tails couldn't help but notice that there was a lot of trash around, the walls and ground was filthy, there were occasional roaches and rodent droppings on the pathway, and perhaps worst of all, there was an unfilled pool that looked as if it served as a public trash dump rather than for swimming.

_"This is freakin' disgusting!..." _Tails thought to himself, taking in the conditions of this complex.

The stench and surroundings actually started to make Tails' stomach churn and he was worried he might vomit. But fortunately, as they reached the end of the complex, it wasn't quite as bad. Once at the end of the complex, they ascended a flight of steps to the second story of the apartments and walked to the very last room on the row. Once there, Sonic held the box under one arm and took out his keys.

"What is this place, Sonic?" Tails inquired.

"...Home..." Sonic said with a depressed sigh, unlocking and opening the door.

Tails was completely caught off guard by the answer. There was no way his hero actually lived **_here_**. But there was no denying it once Sonic stepped into the apartment. Tails followed and was in for yet another surprise once he got inside. Tails had once considered his own home to be the most unfurnished and boring home ever. But he was quickly proven wrong. The door led straight into the kitchen, which had only a small oven, fridge, a few small cupboards, and a tiny sink. An archway led straight into another room, which, from what Tails could see, was completely empty, save for a sliding glass door that led to a thin balcony. Through that same door, the highway they'd pulled off of to get here was roughly about twenty-five or thirty feet away. Thus, the noise of that traffic was mind-boggling, if not right down annoying. As Tails spun around to shut the door behind him, he noticed it had just started to rain. Reaching out, Tails pulled the door shut.

**'KUHGOW' 'KUHGOW'**

Tails jumped with fright at the sound of the gunshots. He quickly raced into the empty room. Another archway led to a third room which was also relatively empty, except for a single-sized bed, another sliding glass door, a small bedside table with a lamp, and a reflective sliding closet door. In the middle of this room, Sonic stood with his Desert Eagle pointed at the closet door, which now had two giant bullet holes in it.

"What was that for!?" Tails said, utterly confused.

Without acknowledging Tails, Sonic walked over to the closet door and slid it open. From inside, a human thug dressed in black with a matching ski mask fell out onto the floor, wielding two sub-machine guns and a larger machine gun strapped to his back.

"DAMN! How'd you know there was a guy in there!?"

"There's **_always_** a guy in here. Half the money I **_used_** to make went into replacement closet doors."

The fox looked into the closet which contained at least a dozen sets of each part of Sonic's dress. There was a line of red shirts, brown leather jackets, blue jeans, and brown belts the the gun logo belt buckle on a rail. On the floor was several pairs of red sneakers. On a shelf, there was a whole collection of identical Desert Eagles. Sonic put his old gun on the left side of the line and took a new one from the right. He then grabbed a replacement of every other garment and went into a small room via another door, which was obviously the bathroom. A minute later Sonic emerged in his fresh wardrobe. He threw the old one into a hamper in the closet and shut the sliding door to it. He then dragged the body over the the sliding door, opened it, and threw it over the side of the balcony. A resounding rumble came from down below as the body landed in a dumpster. Sonic then shut the door to keep the increasingly heavy rain form coming in and sat down on the side of the bed as he stared miserably out at the traffic. Knowing full well what was Sonic's mind, he decided to take the initiative and comfort him.

"Don't worry Sonic... you'll get your badge back. Knuckles is just a bit steamed because you've been a bit more destructive than usual. But it's okay, Sonic. You're everybody's hero, not just mine. It'll all be okay in the end... trust me, please."

Sonic didn't acknowledge Tails. He only continued looking out the door and the now down-pouring rain and traffic.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog let out a very deep sigh.

"No Tails... it's **_not_** going to be alright... All I ever wanted to be was a decent guy... to help people... to bring justice to the bad guys... But every damn time I turned around, I'd get involved in some crazy adventure... And the weird thing is that... every time I got into one of these adventures... I always survived... But **_now_**... I can't even do that anymore... All I ever cared about is gone..."

Sonic spoke these words slowly and quietly, his voice full of depression and sadness. Tails was taken back by Sonic's feelings. Of course, Tails knew that Sonic had always survived as this was a movie. Still, never, in all the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, had he heard his hero speak so eloquently, which told the young fox that these feelings were genuine. Hoping to improve the hedgehog's mood, Tails decided to try a subject change.

"Well... look on the bright side, Sonic. You've always got your sister there for you. And how about your ex-wife? D'you think she'd really keep calling you if somewhere, deep down inside of her, she didn't wan you back.

Sonic finally looked up to the kitsune.

"Tails... for Pete's sake... think about what you just said for a second, alright? Do you _**honestly**_ think that I'd marry somebody so freakin' stupid that they wouldn't know that they were talking to a tape recording of my voice?"

Tails didn't respond.

"Here's something I bet you didn't know. My ex-wife, Fiona Fox, doesn't give a shit about me. The truth is she hooked up with this green prick Scourge the Hedgehog and has been with him ever since, though I haven't seen her in who knows how long. But I know she was far happier to be with him than me."

Sonic could see the surprise in in the fennec's eyes.

"I know what you're thinking, Tails. And **_yes_**, what happened to me is practically identical to what happened to Knuckles. If I'd known he'd have done what he's done to me today, I wouldn't have been so sympathetic to him when his wife left him."

Tails went to speak, but Sonic cut him off.

"So now you want to know who _**does**_ keep calling me, right?"

Tails' silence let Sonic know he was right.

"This is gonna make you laugh your ass off. I pay this girl named Amy Rose, who's freakin' obsessed with me beyond comprehension, to call me from time to time to make it look like I have some sort of social life. The reason I started using those tapes is Amy just seems to be unable to shut up sometimes, so it's all I could do to keep my sanity. But seeing as she's the only person willing to do what she does, I don't have much a choice, do I?"

For a second, Sonic looked down at the ground.

"OH! And Sonia!" the hedgehog said, looking back up. "You think having her as a sister as a good thing? Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have a sibling, but she ain't no angel. She's spoiled beyond your wildest dreams. That's how she got that truck. After about fifty phone calls about it, I couldn't take it anymore. And she's the definition of a neat freak! Seriously, a speck of dirt hits the floor and she breaks out an arsenal of cleaning materials to clean it up. And she doesn't do normal things girl's her age enjoy. Rather than going to her high-school prom, she went to a gym to body build that night. What girl her age does that!?"

Sonic let out another sigh, then laid down on his bed, looking out at the traffic.

"There ya go, Tails. Now you see me for what I truly am. Probably not what you expected from me, huh? Well, same here. I never thought life could rain this much shit on one guy... Sometimes... I just wish something would happen so I could take advantage of and fix myself up... But with how things are going now, who knows... I just wish I could fix my life up, Tails... I really do... But at this rate, I'll probably end up dead before I can do that..."

Tails was cemented in place. He was in complete shock that Sonic's life, his hero, was really this bad.

_"How could all of that happen to one guy? I know this is a movie, but seriously, he's got nothing to look forward to... Almost like... me..."_

These thoughts put a lump in the kitsune's throat and his ears flopped down. Sonic's life was so similar to his own that it was terrifying. Both of them had next to nothing for themselves, they had practically insurmountable misery, and both felt as if everything was going downhill for them. At that moment, Tails noticed Sonic had fallen asleep and was now snoring. Walking quietly over to that sleeping hedgehog, Tails tossed the bed sheet over Sonic. Tails than sat over by the door, watching as they rain fell and cars sped by, horns occasionally blaring and engines gunning. For a while Tails just sat there, taking in everything he'd just learned. But eventually, the sound of the rain and dreariness of the day got to Tails and his eye lids began to sink shut. Before he let himself go to sleep, though, a final thought did cross his mind.

_"I was wrong about you, Sonic. You're not a bad person and you're not being mean on purpose. You're just a good guy who got dealt a bad hand, and it's bringing you down... I'm sorry I ever thought you were a bad guy... I hope you can forgive me..."_

The fox leaned back against the nearby wall, then propped his left tail behind his head as a pillow and wrapped his right tail around him as a cover. Shortly there after, the rainstorm and lull of traffic finally overcame Tails and he fell into a deep slumber but sad slumber.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------****

**A/N** - First off, I want to point out that this scene from the original movie was much shorter. I decided to expand upon it to add more of a story to the characters. Also, the next chapter will resume in this location, another slight variation from the movie.

Also, you will all be pleased to hear that the next chapter starts what I consider the largest action chunk of the whole story. The next few chapters will be full of action, excitement, suspense, and most shocking of all, an unexpected enemy.

One last note. I know I'm sounding like a broken record by now, but I've made one small change to this story yet again. Before, it was set up that the movie world took place in L.A. Now, the movie takes place in a "movie-world Station Square." The reason this is important is that it contrasts with the **_real_** Station Square mentioned earlier in the story. It will also come into play in later chapters.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed that rather emotional chapter and that you are looking forward to the next big action sequence.


	21. Secrets Uncovered

**Chapter 21** – **Secrets Uncovered**

By late afternoon, the rain had stopped and the clouds had broken, allowing the afternoon sunlight to shine through. Inside Sonic's apartment, a light ray fell upon Tails' eyelids, causing him to stir and groggily open his eyes. A quick check of his watch told him it was about 4 o'clock P.M. No sooner had he checked his watch when Sonic woke with a gasp of fear, making Tails jump a bit. Sonic, now sitting on the side of his bed, was shaking a little while rubbing his forehead. Regaining his composure, Sonic got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Tails went to follow but was met with a sore neck and back. He quickly cracked his neck and back, earning a series of satisfying crunches from doing so. He caught up with Sonic in the kitchen where he was drinking a glass of water he'd filled from the sink. Hopping up on the counter, Tails decided to strike up a conversation with Sonic.

"You alright, Sonic?"

"Just having the same nightmare I always have..."

"Your son?"

"...Yup..."

Tails realized that this conversation was not going to end well at this rate. Thinking back to Espio's suspicious actions from earlier, the kitsune decided to gets Sonic's take on it.

"Hey Sonic... what was Espio telling you about earlier?"

"He wanted me to come with him on a job. One of the leaders of the Babylon Rogues, Storm the Albatross, was killed and his funeral's today. In addition, Vector and the head of the Babylon Rogues, Jet the Hawk, are signing some sort of pact today that will make both of their mobs become one.

That was all Tails had to hear.

"Sonic... I heard Vector say something was going to happen at a funeral, and now this guy Storm is going to have one. Maybe there's a connection. Think about it, Vector is out to become the king of this town, and his entire enemy is going to be in one place at one time. If I were Vector, I'd think this were a perfect time to make a move and remove my opposition."

Suddenly, Sonic looked up with surprise in his eyes.

"Tails... I think you've got it figured out!"

Tails, thinking Sonic had been sarcastic, only frowned.

"No, no, seriously! Check this out!"

Sonic stood straight up now and took a step closer to Tails.

"Think about this, Tails. Storm was shot and killed, but he's basically number three in the Babylon Rogues. Now, why would somebody want to kill the number three guy?"

"It doesn't make sense..." Tails said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Actually, it does! Somebody goes out to shoot Jet, but missed and killed Storm. Now, who'd take such a shot?"

"Probably Robotnik..."

"Right again! But do you think he would have missed?"

"No way he'd miss what he was aiming at!"

"**_Unless_**... he **_meant_** to miss."

This answer caught Tails off guard.

"Woah, wait. Are you saying that Robotnik _**intentionally **_missed the shot? Why the hell'd he want to do that?"

"First off, Tails, it would make Vector look innocent. It would be obvious it was him if Jet was killed, as Vector wouldn't waste his time taking out Jet's subordinates. Not only that, but Storm, being the fat ass that he is, would make a perfect package to take out the remaining leaders of the Babylon Rogues and all of their friends."

Tails ears perked up as it was starting to make sense to him.

"Sonic... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Right on. They kill Storm to make Jet want to join with Vector. In doing so, they gain a way to take out Jet's clan. They stuff Storm's body full of explosives while his body is at the morgue and then detonate it at the funeral. That would take everybody remotely having to do with the Babylon Rogues and Vector would be able to take over the whole town! That's his whole plan! That funeral is gonna get blown sky high!"

Tails once again rubbed his chin in thought and came to a conclusion.

"You're partially right, Sonic. You're right about Vector taking out he Babylon Rogues, but you're wrong about the bomb. It's not gonna be just a regular old bomb."

"Oh, he we go with the movies again!" Sonic said, irritated, throwing up his arms and turning his back on Tails.

"Sonic, listen! We've had enough regular explosions already in this movie. Not only that, but a regular bomb leaves too much room for survivors. Whatever Vector has in mind, it's gotta take the whole thing out in one shot."

Sonic suddenly let his cup fall to the floor which shattered on impact and a slick spot now formed on the linoleum floor.

"Oh shit Tails..."

"What?"

"Nerve gas..." Sonic said, turning around, revealing the terror in his face. "A few days ago a few canisters of VX nerve gas were stolen from the G.U.N. military base. They might have put those inside Storm's body instead. And if they detonate that stuff on the roof of the Station Square hotel, which is right in the middle of town..."

Tails was now just as horrified at what they'd figured out.

"Sonic... that stuff would not only take out the Babylon Rogues, but everybody in the hotel, the surrounding area, and practically all of Station Square..."

Both Mobians looked right into each others eyes, both knowing full well what they had to do.

"Tails, we gotta stop this!"

"Let's go!"

Both beings bolted for the front door and ran at full speed to the Bonneville in the parking lot. Moments later the engine was started and they left the parking lot in haste.

"I'm gonna take Route 101. It's the fastest route!"

"Got it! Let's just get there fast!"

Sonic floored the car as they got to an on-ramp for Route 101 and started to make their way into the heart of Station Square.  
--

After driving at top speed for about twenty minutes, the Station Square Hotel appeared as they rounded a corner on he highway. Taking an exit ramp, the two heroes were now on street level and was quickly approaching the building. Once they'd come right along side of it, Sonic took a hard left, cutting across the opposing lane of traffic, and smashed through a fence around the perimeter of the grounds. He then proceeded to drive the car through a shallow reflective water pool, spraying water up waves along side the car, and brought the Bonneville to a screeching halt in a parking lot next to the hotel. No sooner had Sonic shut of the engine he'd gotten out and turned to Tails.

"Stay in the car, Tails. I'm gonna go find Espio."

"No way! I'm coming with you!"

Sonic slumped his shoulders in disgust.

"Look Tails... let's just for one minute **_pretend_** this is a movie. What usually happens when somebody tells someone else to stay in the car, and he doesn't?"

"That person usually saves the day," Tails said confidently.

"**_Or_** gets killed!" Sonic retorted.

"Fine, I'll stay in the car..." Tails whined as he slouched in his seat.

Sonic started to make his way towards the hotel when Tails suddenly remembered another common movie occurance when somebody waits in a car.

"Sonic! Sometimes in the movies waiting in the car is what gets the person killed!" Tails shouted.

"There's a gun in the glove compartment!" the hedgehog shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared into the cars in the parking lot.

Tails, taking Sonic's advice, went to open the glove compartment. But when he did, the latch was quite stiff and wasn't opening. He gave it a little more force, but still for what ever reason, it wouldn't open. Finally, he gave it all he had. Instantly, the glove compartment creaked open, and no less than about half a dozen guns, a pair of handcuffs, and a belt of large caliber bullets spilled out onto the floor.

"Holy shit..." Tails said, amazed at the arsenal that had somehow been crammed into the glove compartment.

Studying the guns carefully, Tails quickly realized why they were in there. Most of them looked old and unused. Why the bullet belt was in there, Tails didn't have the slightest clue. What he did spot was one of the guns looked new, a silver Walther PPK. Tails picked up this gun, checked to see the clip was full, which it was, and cocked the weapon. Sitting there now, Tails began to think that staying put wasn't a good idea. There was a lot of people that wouldn't be pleased to see Sonic around here. On top of that, Tails still didn't trust Espio. Despite what Sonic told him Tails decided to try and catch up with Tails. Tails made to hop out of the car, but just before he did, he grabbed the pair of handcuffs that had fallen out of the glove compartment, thinking they might come in handy. Armed and ready to help Sonic, Tails started to make his way towards the hotel.

--

Up on the roof of the hotel, the funeral services were just getting underway. Storm's body, dressed in a fine black tuxedo, was in a casket in front of rows of chairs. Scattered amongst the seats as well as the roof were various religious and funeral personnel, as well as all the connections and associates of the Babylon Rogues that had been made in Station Square, both humans and mobians alike. And in the middle of all this, the remaining members of the leaders of the Babylon Rogues, Jet, a green hawk, and Wave, a purple swallow. Both were dressed in black and were greeting or speaking with the various people on the roof. At one point, there was a break in the people, and it was at that point that Vector, in a black tux and hat, stepped out of the crowd, followed by Robotnik, still wearing his terribly-out-of-place white tuxedo.

"Hello, Vector..." Jet said, his voice lacking a bit in emotion.

"Jet... I know this is a difficult time for you... If you wish, we can do this another time... After all, I'd hate to become a fourth wheel to somebody who's going to be my partner."

"It's fifth wheel... you idiot..." Robotnik said under his breath.

Jet sighed heavily but managed to look up at Vector.

"No... Vector. This must be done. The troubles between us in the past must become just that, the past. After something like this, I don't want to lose any more teammates, and if that means joining forces with somebody I've had bad dealings with in the past, then I guess I have to do it..."

Vector appeared to act touched, but of course, it was all an act. Jet was falling right into his hands, not evn sensing there was anything foul going on.

"Jet, your words are admirable. I wish my associate Dr. Ivo Robotnik and I had had the chance to meet him before... the incident..."

Once again, Jet bowed his head. Wave put her hand on his shoulder as a sign of compassion, but it made no difference.

"Storm was my right hand man... and he brought a new meaning to the word loyal. Whoever shot him should be blown to pieces..." Jet stuttered, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Why'd this have to happen.. why Storm... And who'd do such a thing?... Who'd be so sadistic that they'd... **_they'd._**.. "

Jet, finally over come by grief, over-turned a table next to him while crying out in anguish, tears falling from his eyes. He then sat down in a chair that had been at the table and put his face in his hands as he sobbed. Wave grabbed another chair and put it next to Jet. She wrapped her arms around Jet and laid her head on his shoulder, tears in the corners of her eyes as well.

"DAMMIT!..." Jet roared into his hands.

"Jet... maybe Vector's right. Perhaps we should do this another time when we're not so distressed," Wave suggested.

"I'd have to agree with her, Vector." Eggman said.

"Yes, I do to. Jet, we shall meet again later when you are-"

"No... we will do this now," Jet said, fighting back his tears.

Vector gave Robotnik the slightest look out of the corner of his eye, signaling that all was going to plan. The four of them helped reset the table. Once they'd all taken their seats, Jet and Vector took out two documents hat pledged allegiance and partnership between the two of them. After each mob leader led the others documents, they signed the documents and re-exchanged them. The crocodile and hawk then shook hands over the table.

"I'd just like to thank you for for doing this, Jet." Vector said.

"It's like I said, Vector. I don't wanna lose any more teammates, and you're an established group. I just hope we will be able to get along and won't have any further tragedies."

"One can only hope, Jet."

That said, all four rose from their seats.

"Well, I still feel we should not stay, Jet. This service is for you, and though we are partners, I will respect you and allow you proper time to grieve."

"You're so kind... thank you..." Wave said, still holding Jet with one of her arms.

"Yes, thank you Vector. But perhaps you should at least pay your respects before you leave. At least... you'll have met Storm..."

Once again, Jet lowered his head.

"We shall do just that, Jet."

That said, Wave an Jet disappeared back into the crowd. Vector then looked over Robotnik. The look in the crocodile's yellow eyes said it all. They weren't suspected for anything. Jet hadn't figured out that it was in fact Robotnik that had killed Storm. They hadn't figured out that the agreement they'd just signed was never going to be followed. And most of all, they didn't suspect that Vector was planning on killing everybody on this roof. The two evil doers made their way up to the casket where Storm was. The two looked at him momentarily, then Vector looked at Robotnik out of the corner of his eye and nodded ever so slightly. As stealthily as he could, Robotnik reached into the casket and pushed a button on a digital watch on Storm's right arm. A timer lit up on it displaying fifteen minutes. As the watch slowly started to tick away, an evil grin crossed the croc's face.

"Do your best, Storm," Vector said evilly.

"I think we should go now," Robotnik suggested.

"Yes... however... we must stop in at the ground floor briefly. I must talk with... him."

Without another word, both of them started to make their way to an external elevator to get down to the ground.

--

Back down on he ground, Sonic had finally located Espio off to the side of one of the entrances.

"Espio!"

The hedgehog started sprinting his way over to the chameleon.

"Sonic!?"

The hedgehog fought his way through the hordes of people arriving for the funeral and caught up with Espio.

"You sure changed moods pretty quickly, Sonic."

"Espio, listen to me!"

Espio was a little taken back by the sudden response.

"Storm's body is a bomb! Vector had it stuffed with the nerve gas from the G.U.N. base and he's gonna use it to take out everybody that has to do with the Babylon Rogues!"

Espio, despite usually being a laid back character, was now clearly showing fear.

"So **_that's_** why the city morgue was broken into! They're using the body as a chemical bomb! Sonic, I don't know how the hell you figured this all out, but we gotta stop this! Follow me!"

Espio started running toward the side of the building with Sonic in pursuit. Both of them were unaware that a pair of cyan eyes was watching them.

"Espio, where are you going! The entrance is back there!"

"This is a quicker route! Come on!"

They rounded a corner and started running down a long, enclosed driveway. All around there were dumpsters and a signs that said "Waste Disposal Area." This was enough to get get the hedgehog's attention as it was. But Sonic noticed the lack of one crucial thing, and that was a way out of the driveway they were in. It was at that moment Sonic stopped. Espio also stopped and turned around, having noticed the lack of Sonic's footsteps.

"Sonic, what the hell are you waiting for!"

Sonic looked at Espio with a stone-cold expression as he walked the short distance between them. When he got a few feet away, he quickly spin-dashed Espio, knocking him over.

"Sonic, what are you-"

The reptile's sentence was cut off by Sonic putting his foot down on Espio's chest.

"Who are you working for, Espio?"

"What are you talking about!"

"How stupid do you think I am!? This is a driveway for trash cans! There's no way outta here and there's no way into the hotel. So I'll ask again, who are you working for!?"

For a second, Espio only looked at Sonic, who was glaring at him. He then closed his eyes and smirked a little. Without warning, Espio went invisible and tele-ported out from under Sonic's foot. Though it was only about a second later, by the time Sonic turned around, he was greeted by the chameleon pointing a 9mm Beretta pistol at him.

"I didn't want it to come down to this, Sonic..."

Espio walked over to Sonic and took his Desert Eagle out of his belt line and tucked the massive hand cannon into one of his pockets, then stepped back, all the while keeping his own gun trained on Sonic.

"You bastard... Tails told me not to trust you..."

"So _**that's**_ his name!"

"Yeah... he told me you've killed people."

"So many, I can't even remember most of them, Sonic. You, on the other hand, I **_will_** remember when I kill you."

"Assuming you even get that chance!"

The chameleon turned around to see Tails, who'd watched both of them enter here, pointing his silver PPK at him.

"You move, and I'll blow you away," Tails said, his voice suggesting he was serious.

Espio only scoffed and went invisible again. A distress drop formed on Tails' head, as he'd not known Espio had this power. He started pointing in all directions, hoping to spot some sort of sign of Espio. Out of nowhere, Espio appeared to Tails' left side delivered a drop-kick from to his side, sending Tails into a nearby wall. The impact made the fox lose grip on his gun and the handcuffs he'd grabbed fell out of his jacket pocket as well. Espio walked over to the dropped materials to retrieve both of them. He used a kleenex to pick up the gun.

"Congratulations, Tails. You're fingerprints are all over this gun. I can now use it to frame you for murdering Sonic."

Before Tails could get up, Espio raced over to the fox with lightning speed and put one of the cuffs on Tails' left wrist. He then started to put the other cuff on a pipe that happened to be right next to him, still keeping Tails' gun pointed at Sonic. Tails and Sonic quickly exchanged looks, both knowing this was not good.

--

Vector and Robotnik had just reached the ground level via the external elevator. A quick around told them all was not well.

"He's not here..." Robotnik said.

"I expected this might happen. Let's start checking the rendezvous points." Vector suggested.

--

Back with Sonic, Espio had just finished cuffing Tails to the pipe and was now standing up again, still pointing Tails' gun with the kleenex wrapped around it at Sonic.

"Why the hell are you doing this, Espio? You used to be somebody I could trust."

The chameleon scoffed, then chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious, Sonic? I got tired of my services not being compensated for properly."

Sonic gasped and looked at Espio in disbelief.

"You doing this shit for money!?"

"That's right, Sonic."

As the two stared each other down, Tails stood by on the side, unable to do anything. Standing there chained to the pipe reminded him of the night Nack had broken into his home and did the same thing. This memory reminded Tails of something else. It was a long shot, but with his free left hand, he reached into his left jacket pocket. In his fingers he could feel a small, metal handcuff key, the one he'd been carrying the whole time from before.

"You see Sonic, Vector cut some deals with the Babylon Rogues to get on their good side and come to the service today. Five to one says that the bomb, which you somehow figured out existed, has already been activated. When it goes off, it's the Babylon Rogues will go the way of the Dodo."

Unbeknownst to Espio and even Sonic, Tails had just unlocked the cuff from around the pipe.

"I know all that. Where do you fit into this mess, Espio?" Sonic asked coldly.

"I'm glad you asked. In exchange for making sure Vector's plans weren't interfered with, Vector agreed to give me a percentage of the profit he's gonna make by taking over Station Square. I'll become a billionaire overnight, Sonic!"

Silently, Tails had just gotten the cuff off from around his right hand and tucked the cuffs into his pocket. He could clearly see the huge handle of Sonic's Desert Eagle sticking out from Espio's pocket, but he had to wait for the right moment to grab for it.

"Espio, are you out of your freakin' mind! That gas will probably kill half the city if it's released, maybe even all of it!" Sonic shouted.

"So what? Why should I care about that? All I care about is getting my pay. In fact, why should **_you_** even care about that? You're about to have a bullet put in your head. I think I'd be more concerned about myself then a bunch of bastards that don't mean shit."

Sonic, enraged by Espio's inhuman comment, glared at him with his teeth bared. Espio' response was to point his gun right at Sonic's head. To steady his grip on the gun, Espio put his other hand on the gun, leaving the Desert Eagle in his pocket wide open.

"Well Sonic, it's time for me to go. And you too. But... just before I kill you, I just want to say it was a pleasure working with you before. It's too bad you won't be able to enjoy the incredible wealth like I'm about to get. All that money... it just make my heart- "

"**FREEZE!**"

Tails had leapt forward and grabbed the Desert Eagle out of Espio's pocket and pointed it at the chameleon. Espio whirled about with a rather surprised look on his face. He went to point the gun in his hands at Tails, but Sonic tackled Espio into the nearby wall and twisted his arm with the gun behind his back, making Espio yelp out in pain.

"Tails, give me the cuffs!"

The fox threw the cuffs to Sonic and he started trying to cuff Espio's hands behind his back. The whole time, Tails never lowered the giant fifty caliber pistol from Espio. The gun was so big for Tails' hands that he couldn't even get his whole hand around it, so he had to clasp it tightly with both hands. Not only that, but the tremendous weight of the gun made it incredibly hard to hold and Tails could barely keep it pointed straight. Espio managed to sneak a livid glare at Tails for having foiled his plans.

"Damn you..."

"Hey, you got nobody to blame but yourself, Espio!" Sonic told the struggling reptile.

"How'd this whole thing turn around into this!" Espio shouted.

"Man, I've seen some stupid bad guys before but you have to top them all!," Tails said, catching both of their attention. "You made the classic movie mistake, Espio! You talked to much! If you'd just fired, you'd have won! But **_noooooo_**! You just had to get in one last dumbass monolog before finishing the job, didn't you?."

The purple lizard was completely confused by what Tails had been saying, but he quickly dropped it when Sonic clenched the cuffs tightly onto his now pinned wrists. The hedgehog then started to force Espio to walk.

"OK Tails, now we gotta find either Vector or the Eggman."

Tails lowered the gun in his hands.

"Where do you think we should start, Sonic?"

"How about right behind you."

The voice came from behind Tails. I was a low, raspy, male voice that he knew all to well. Looking over his shoulder, Tails looked right up into Robotnik's face.

"Hello, fox boy."

Tails tried to spin around and shoot Robotnik, but Vector, who'd been right beside Robotnik, tail whipped the fox, sending him flying backwards. Tails hit his head on the pipe he'd been chained to only minutes ago, a resounding clang coming from it as he collided with it. The impact nearly knocked Tails out. Taking advantage of the confusion, Espio, despite having both hand cuffed behind him, jumped up and delivered a kick to Sonic's shoulder which sent him over next to Tails. Vector then stood in front of both Sonic and Tails, pointing a gold .38 Perti revolver at both of them.

"Hello, Sonic. So nice you could join us today," Vector jeered.

Behind them, Robotnik took out his .500 S&W revolver and pointed it at them. Espio wasted to no time in tele-porting out of the handcuffs. He then threaded the cuffs behind the pipe on the wall and cuffed both Tails and Sonic to it. Now, both heroes were incapable of doing anything. They were stuck to a pipe, they had three guns pointed on them, no way out, now way to call for help, and worst of all, a ticking chemical bomb up above. Unless they could think of something fast, the apocalypse of Station Square would take place in only a few minutes time.

--

**A/N** - I'd just like to say I'm trying my best to keep up with updating. It's hard to do with college taking up a lot of my time, something I'm sure a lot of us can relate to.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed that chapter. There's plenty more action to come, so tune in!


	22. Strange Situations

**Chapter 22** – **Strange Situations**

Sonic and Tails, cuffed to the pipe and at gunpoint by Espio, could only stand by and watch as Vector and Eggman engaged in a conversation that they couldn't overhear. Robotnik then leaned closer and tapped his watch.

"We've got about seven minutes until detonation..." Robotnik said quietly.

"Very well then. Time for us to exit. We'll leave **_them_**," Vector said, nodding his head to their hostages, "to Espio."

"No Vector, I should kill them now, while we are all still present.." the fat man argued.

"Don't question me, Robotnik. Get my car ready."

"I must insist!" Robotnik said, his voice getting a bit louder than it should have.

"NO! Now move it!" Vector said in a near-yell.

Vector parted from Robotink's glare and headed towards Espio. Unseen by the crocodile, Robotnik was quivering with rage and was grinding his teeth. With great reluctance, he turned and started off to the valet paring area.

_"Just a little longer, you bastard..." _Robotnik thought to himself as he walked away.

Back with Espio, Vector had just clapped Espio on the shoulder, but the chameleon did not take his eyes off of Sonic and Tails, nor did he lower Tails' gun, which he still held with the kleenex. Therefore, Vector leaned down closer to Espio's head to tell him something.

"Less than seven minutes. We're leaving now. Finish the job, but keep it quiet and with little mess as possible. Then make sure all goes to plan."

"Roger that..." Espio said plainly.

That said, Vector stood up and looked to the hapless hostages.

"Well Sonic, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'd love to stay and watch the show, but I must establish an alibi for myself so that I'm not blamed for the upcoming event."

Sonic only glared at Vector while Tails desperately tried to think of some way to escape their seemingly hopeless predicament.

"Farewell..." the green reptile said smugly, turning to leave and pulling the brim of his hat down as he went.

"Well Tails... got any bright ideas on how to save the day this time?"

"I'm thinking..."

"Apparently not hard enough," Sonic taunted.

"Hey, I don't see **_you_** do anything!?"

"Well, you wouldn't want me to steal the show now, would you?"

"Shut up you two!" Espio barked.

* * *

Out at the main entrance of the hotel, Robotnik stood by waiting for Vector's car to show up. Moments later, a white Rolls Royce Phantom pulled up just as Vector appeared. The valet driver handed the keys to Vector and he got into the Phantom. Robotnik then went to open the passenger door to sit door to sit down, Vector locked the doors. Confused by this move, Eggman tapped on the window. 

"You're staying here to make sure everything goes as planned. You and Espio will leave together after he kills Sonic and you've confirmed the bomb will go off safely."

"Why are you trusting Espio now? I can kill them right now and we can all leave together."

"I trust you, Robotnik. But you've had Sonic in front of the eight-ball before and you screwed up. This time, I'm leaving the assassinations in capable hands. You make sure that bomb goes off and I'll start trusting you again."

For a few moments, Eggman thought this over. He then nodded and let Vector go. Taking off his dark sunglasses, Robotnik looked at the departing Phantom.

"It's behind the eight-ball... you moron..." Robotnik said to himself as Vector drove off, replacing his glasses and beginning to make his way back to Espio.

"If only you knew the truth, Vector. If only you knew what I know." he said to himself, chuckling.

* * *

_"Come on Robotnik, get your fat ass back here. We got less than six minutes," he thought to himself._

But Espio's patience was already gone. He quickly glanced at his watch once more and then took a few steps back

"Well Sonic, I think this is it for you and Tails here."

Tails' ears perked up.

_"_Aren't you going to wait for Robotnik?" Tails asked.

"Why wait? If I kill you now and I get to leave and become a very rich man."

"In your dreams," Sonic said.

"Oh no, in reality. I'll be so rich I'll... On second thought, I think I'll keep that to myself. I'm gonna take your advice Tails. I've often been told that I can sometimes talk too much... well..."

Espio pointed the gun in his hands at the two of them.

"No more words..."

Espio cocked back the hammer of the gun and prepared to fire. Just as he went to pull the trigger, the lid on a nearby dumpster flew open and a huge purple cat with a gray trench coat, gray fedora hat, and dark sunglasses jumped out of it

"BIG!" Sonic and Tails said in unison.

"What the!?" Espio said, quickly turning around.

"I"LL SAVE YOU!" Big yelled in his dopey voice.

Big belly-flopped hard onto the ground. The shock wave from the impact made Espio lose his balance and he fell to the ground. Unknown to him, his black 9mm Beretta fell out of his pocket. Unfortunately, Espio was much faster than Big and had already gotten back onto his feet and was now pointing Tails' PPK right at Big's face. Reacting instinctively, Tails stretched his tails out as far as he could in a tail whip attack. The tail whip hit Espio's back just as he pulled the trigger, making the shot sail high and through Big's hat but not his head. Espio then quickly turned around and pushed Tails back to the wall and tried to shoot him. In a move almost to quick to see, Sonic kicked Espio's Beretta to Big.

"NO!" Espio roared, seeing what Sonic had done.

Espio was already too late. Big, still on the ground, already had the Beretta in his hands, thanks to Sonic's quick move. Just as the chameleon had spun fully around and pointed his gun at Big, the cat pulled the trigger twice. Both shots hit Espio in the chest and he fell to the ground, howling in pain, and dropped the PPK as he did so. Once on the ground, Espio, with labored breath, touched one of his wounds to his chest Blood covered the chameleon's white glove and was also staining his suit too.

"Dammit..." Espio said in a raspy breath, blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth.

The chameleon's yellow eyes rolled up into his head as he laid out on the ground as he let out a final wheeze, then ceased to move. Big got to his feet and took off his hat to inspect the hole in it. He swallowed deeply, knowing just how close it had been to killing him. Replacing the hat on his head, Big looked down at Espio.

"Why'd you have to do it, Espio..." Big said quietly as looked.

"HEY BIG! Get your ass over here and get us off this pipe!" Sonic shouted.

"Duuuuh, oh yeah! Sowry!" Big said as he looked up to Sonic and Tails.

"Espio's got a key in one of his pockets, Big!" Tails said.

Big quickly found the key and tossed it to Tails, who then started to un-cuff himself.

"How'd you know we were here, Big?" Sonic asked.

"Duuuh, I got a weird phone call saying dere would be a shooting at duh Station Sqwuare Hotel today. I just happened to be looking awound in here when I saw you two coming. I woulda said hi, but when Espio pulled out his gun, I hid in here and listened to evwything."

Tails had just un-cuffed Sonic and handed him the cuffs.

"Somebody told you that? Guess we're not the only ones who knows what's going on here. Who do you think it could be, Tails?"

Tails shrugged.

"Some help you are. Well, regardless, we don't have time to figure it out," Sonic continued, frisking Espio as he did,"this thing isn't over. In about five minutes that bomb is gonna go off."

"A bomb!?" Big said, scared out of his mind.

"Yeah, a chemical bomb," Sonic said.

"Nerve gas, to be precise," Tails added.

Big sweat dropped upon hearing this.

"Duuh, what are we gonna do, Sonic!?"

"Leave the bomb to me and Tails, Big. You start sealing off this hotel and get as many people out as you can!"

"OKIE DOOKY! Good luck, Sonic!" Big said as he turned and ran off as fast as he could, his giant feet making quite a ruckus.

By now, Sonic was done frisking Espio. He tucked his Desert Eagle into his belt line and tossed Tails his PPK.

"Tails, help me move his body."

With slight reluctance, Tails help Sonic pick up Espio's body and hurl it into a dumpster. There was a little bit of blood left on the floor, but neither of them worried about that now. The two then ran out of the driveway and back out into the open.

"Now what, Tails!?"

"Umm..."

"Umm's not an answer, Tails! I thought you were good with this stuff!"

Tails looked up at Sonic, offended. When he looked up however, he saw something that caught his eye in the reflection of an adjacent building.

"Sonic! Look!"

Sonic looked at the reflection. It was a giant crane.

"Tails, I think I got an idea! Come on!"

The fox and hedgehog started running towards the front of the hotel. Unaware to both of them, they're exit had been witnessed by the fat man in a white tuxedo.

* * *

Back out front of the main entrance of the hotel, Sonic and Tails had found the crane. As it turned out, there was a construction site immediately adjacent to the hotel that was building a parking garage. Instantly, Sonic came up with a plan. 

"Tails! See the hook on that crane!?," Sonic said, pointing at the giant hook and ball at the end of the crane's wire, " I want you to get that to the roof of the hotel in two minutes! GO!"

Without further hesitation, Sonic sprinted the luxurious external elevator nearest the crane on the corner of the building.

"Woah, wait! How the hell am I gonna do I that!?" Tails shouted, but Sonic was already out of hearing range.

* * *

Back in the driveway that Tails and Sonic had exited, Eggman was now looking around. He noted three bullet shells on the floor, two of them 9mm and one 7.65mm. He knew that Espio had been using the 7.65 mm PPK, and therefore he was fairly confident that the 9mm shots weren't from him and guessed that Espio had fired a single shot at whoever had fired the 9mm. He knew somebody had been killed since the was blood on the ground, but what he didn't know was _**who'd**_ been shot. Quickly looking around in the nearby dumpsters, he quickly found Espio's body, smiling when he did. 

"Atta boy, Sonic. Just keep it up. Everything is going perfectly."

Robotnik turned to leave the driveway.

"Guess I oughta find a good vantage point to make sure the rest **_goes as planned_**," Robotnik said to himself.

* * *

Sonic had just reached the elevator he was running for and pushed the button for the top floor. He knew that with his speed he could have made it to the roof in seconds. Unfortunately, that would be too conspicuous. Stealth, as much as Sonic despised it, was the only option this time. As the elevator slowly rose upwards, Sonic noticed Tails making his way across the construction site to the crane.

* * *

Tails had now reached the crane and opened the door to the operators cab. 

"Sir, please! You gotta let me move this crane! It's an emergency!"

The operator gave Tails and angry look.

"Get the hell out of here kid! What do you think this is, a playground!"

Tails had no time for dealing with this guy. He held up his PPK.

"Help me move this crane! **NOW**!" Tails roared.

Suddenly, the driver was no longer a tough guy.

"Run for it! That freakin kid's got a gun!" the operator shouted as he and everybody else in the whole construction site began to run for their lives, leaving Tails alone to run the crane.

"Dammit, _dammit_, **_dammit_**!," Tails shouted, punching the seat in the cab. "Looks like I gotta handle this myself!"

Tails sat down in the operator's seat and started to run his eyes over the hive of buttons, switches, handles, and control levers in front of him.

* * *

Up on the roof, Sonic had just gotten off the elevator. In front of him, the massive crowd for the funeral blocked his way to where Storm's body was. Deciding to hold back for the moment, Sonic looked over the side of the building to see what Tails was up to. Looking over the side, he saw that the construction site was empty, but the crane hadn't moved. Sonic glanced down at his watch. 

"Come on, Tails! Step on it! We got four minutes here!" Sonic said to himself.

* * *

Back down on the ground, Tails sat pondering what control to use. Though he possessed incredible mechanical skills, this crane was over-complicated and hard to figure out thanks to the fact that it was in a movie. At random, Tails pushed a crooked lever to his left forward. The engine gunned, but nothing apparent happened. A second later, the ball and hook smashed into the ground just in front of the cabin. 

"Woah!" Tails yelled as he ducked in the cab as a cloud of dust came up from the ground.

* * *

Up on the roof, Sonic slapped his head when the hook and ball had hit the ground. 

"Come on, Tails! Get it together!"

* * *

Tails quickly got back into the seat and pulled the previous lever back towards him, raising the hook and ball to its original position. Looking around the cabin again, Tails this time pushed another crooked lever to the right of him. Once again, nothing apparent happened right away, but that was only for a second. 

"Oops..."

* * *

Sonic could only watch as the entire arm of the crane quickly lowered down and slammed into the beginnings of the new parking garage, demolishing most of it upon impact. The hedgehog buried his face in his hands and sighed. 

"Never trust a fox to do a hedgehog's job," Sonic muttered to himself.

* * *

Much more dust resulted from this accident, but since everything was still damp from the rains earlier, it quickly settled. Tails, growing increasingly frustrated, randomly pushed a tall, straight lever in front of him. The engine gunned, but this time, the entire crane started to rotate towards the hotel. 

"I hope you're ready up there, Sonic!"

* * *

Sonic watched as the crane started to rotate towards him. Knowing it wouldn't take long to reach him, he had no choice but to quickly start pushing his way through the crowd. After quite a bit of shoving and angry statements from those who'd been bumped into, Sonic reached Storm's casket. But had was faced with the problem of how to get Storm's huge body out of there quietly and without being seen, a task that was, needless to say, next to impossible. Glancing over Storm's body, Sonic noticed a digital watch on his wrist. The screen indicated three minutes and counting. Knowing he had no choice, Sonic was just gonna have to grab the body and try to get it back to the elevator instead of waiting for the crane. With a grunt, Sonic picked up Storm's massive body and hurled him onto his shoulders. Sure enough, people behind him began to scream or cry out in horror at what he was doing. Just as he turned around to make a run for it, Sonic found himself face-to-face with a green hawk. 

"**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!**" Jet roared, his face livid with anger.

Sonic stood with his knees buckling, trying desperately to come up with something to do. Wave then appeared out of the crowd and joined Jet's side.

"You will die for this," she said without emotion.

Wanting to make like a tree and leave, Sonic tried coming up with something to say to get out of this.

"Well... you see... I'm here to... uhh... **LOOK! ELVIS!**"

To the hedgehog's surprise, everybody in front of him spun around to look in the opposite direction. Seeing his chance, Sonic went to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Storm's enormous weight hindered Sonic's progress, and before he could even move a few feet, all of them turnd back around to see the hedgehog trying to escape. That's when Wave took out an Uzi from her suit and pointed it at Sonic. Jet then pulled out dual sawed-off shotguns and also pointed them as Sonic. As if this weren't bad enough, every single person in front of him, mobian and human, guest or event director, pulled out a weapon and pointed it at Sonic, ranging from something as small as .22 hand pistol, to AK-47's and hand-held gattling-guns, right up to rocket launchers and flame throwers. The color drained from Sonic's face as he was in front of what could be called the largest firing squad in history. Knowing he was about to be turned into swiss cheese, the hedgehog had to think of something now, or be killed.

"Don't shoot!," Sonic yelled, holding up Storm's body as a shield. "If you shoot at me, you'll hit Storm!"

The crowd before him started to murmur. As much as they all wanted to blow Sonic away, they didn't want to desecrate Storm's body. For a split second, Sonic considered tossing Storm's body over the side of the building so he could move at full speed and hopefully run away. But that plan became moot when Sonic looked over his shoulder. The giant red hook and ball was a few feet behind him and was approaching fast. Only then did Sonic realize how fortunate he was that he'd waited this long. Without a second of hesitation, Sonic moved out of the way while positioning Storm's body for the hook. When the hook hit Storm, it snagged his jacket and started to pull him forward. Sonic grabbed on to Storm's ankle's and held on tightly as the crane dragged him and Storm through the crowd, plowing people off to the sides with ease. After a few seconds of bowling through the crowd, Sonic burst through to the other side of the crowd and planned on just hanging on the Storm as would ride off the roof to escape. Unfortunately, Sonic lost his grip on Storm's ankles and slid to a halt as the crane continued on, leaving him on the roof. Behind him, a unanimous cry of concern erupted as everybody saw Storm's body go over the side of the building. The crowd rushed to the side of building and looked over, only to see Storm's body hanging from the hook. Taking advantage of this diversion, Sonic sneaked his way through the crowd and managed to make his way out and start towards the elevator.

"Where the hell do you think **_you're_** going!?"

Sonic turned around to see Wave pointing her Uzi at him. A moment later, Jet joined her, and soon, Sonic once again found himself facing the firing squad from hell. The only difference this time was there was a chance, however slim it may be, to escape.

"Sorry to crash the party, but I gotta **_jet_** outta here!" Sonic said sarcastically, and started running for the elevator.

"**SHOOT THAT BASTARD!**" Jet roared.

* * *

**A/N** - Lots of interesting things going on in here. And what's Eggman up to? I'll be surprised if anybody can figure it out. 

I apologize for the delay. It's hard to work on this with college, especially considering that my midterms are coming up next week.

Also, I apologize for this chapter. It didn't come out all that well in my opinion. Maybe your reviews will tell me otherwise, but right now I feel as if this chapter isn't one of my finer works.

Anyways, much more action to come in the next chapter. Stay tuned.

* * *


	23. The Fall of Sonic the Hedgehog

Here's part two of the hotel action sequence. Sorry it took a little while. I had college midterms some, term projects, and choosing spring classes to contend with. I'm sure we can all relate to bing busy. But I must be doing something right. I got straight A's and my GPA is 4.2. So, yay for me! XD

Also, at this time I'd like to thank my loyal fans, Amras Felagund, Princess Lady, Spencer Serra, and Eric Neo Matrix. You guys are th ones who've kept me going on this story. I never thought when I started it I'd get 40 reviews on it, and I have you to thank for that. You guys and gals are the greatest.

That said, here's chapter 23. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 23** – The Fall of Sonic the Hedgehog 

Just as Sonic had predicted, all hell was unleashed behind him as every person in attendance opened fire. Bullets, bombs, rockets, flame jets, and just about every type of projectile imaginable ricocheted, shot up, and demolished everything on the roof. Chairs broke apart, statues crumbled, and the floor was becoming plagued with holes. Running full speed at the elevator, Sonic noticed that it wasn't there. Turns out, it was five floors down on the fifteenth floor. Knowing it was either escape now or die, Sonic made a split second decision and jumped clear over the side of the building towards the elevator down below.

"SONIC!" Tails cried out down in the crane, having seen the hedgehog's leap.

Falling feet first, Sonic took out his Desert Eagle and shot out the glass roof of the external elevator. With only a moment until impact, Sonic braced himself for what was going to be a hard impact. He crashed though the remaining bit of glass and hit the floor so hard he fell flat onto his back, an uncommon occurrence for Sonic. As the hedgehog lay on the floor, dazed at the stunt he'd just managed to pull off, his ears began to detect a new sound and flick with interest. Whatever it was had a roaring engine and was getting close. Looking up, Sonic discovered the last thing he wanted to see.

"You've got to be kidding me..." he said to himself.

Approaching the elevator was a small, black helicopter. It was the same one that the traitor Espio had told him would be there. To complicate things, this was no ordinary helicopter. On it's right side it had a full size gatling gun, and on the left it had two vertically stacked .50 caliber machine guns. Sonic didn't even need to think why it was lining itself up with the elevator. It had undoubtedly been called in by Jet to kill the intruder. Realizing he was only seconds away from all hell being unleashed part two, Sonic quickly stood up and pushed the button for the fifteen, the floor that he was currently on. The moment the doors opened, Sonic prepared to sprint to safety inside the building. But as the doors opened, he was met by a crowd of mobsters pouring into the room, all armed to the teeth.With an armed helicopter behind him and an angry mob in front of him, Sonic realized there was only place to go now.

"**OH** _**SHIT**_!" the hedgehog yelled, dropping to the elevator floor.

That's when the helicopter unleashed it's fury into the elevator. A terrifying sound came from the aircraft's guns as they fired round after round of high caliber bullets that tore through the elevator, the mobsters, and straight through to the other side of the hotel. Sonic held his body as close to the ground as he could while bullets whizzed just millimeters above him. Finally, the gunshots stopped. Lifting his head ever so slightly, Sonic saw that all the mobsters had been killed by the helicopter. A moment later, the elevator doors shut, revealing that they now had more bullet holes than could be counted. But along with the holes in the walls and doors, Sonic spotted a suspicious red X wavering around the elevator as well. Still lying on the ground, Sonic looked over his shoulder and became blinded by a red light. Only then did Sonic realize that the red X was a cross hair targeting beam from the helicopter's gatling gun. Looking into the cockpit of the helicopter, Sonic could see that the human pilot had a vicious smile on his face and had his thumb poised over the trigger.

"_Oh my god... what the hell am I gonna do?..._"the hedgehog thought to himself.

Knowing that if he moved he was dead and staying still he would killed, Sonic's mind went blank as to what to do. That's when something else moving through the air caught Sonic's eye. Creeping up behind the helicopter was the top of the crane Tails was operating. Just as the pilot pressed the trigger, the crane collided with the chopper's rear blade, causing it to nose up and shoot only the top half of the elevator. Not wasting a single second, Sonic rolled onto his back while drawing out his Desert Eagle and pulled the trigger as fast as he could while aiming for the helicopter pilot. The .50 caliber bullets pierced straight into the cockpit and right into the pilot multiple times. Finally, a bullet to the pilot's head covered the inside of the cockpit with brain matter and the pilot slouched in his seat, letting go of the flight stick as he did. Sonic then shot a few more bullets into the helicopter's engine, just for good measure. Smoke started to waft from the engine as each bullet caused increasingly higher levels of damage to the already injured aircraft. With the engine sputtering and all kinds of alarms going off in the cockpit, the helicopter started to fall from the sky and head towards the parking lot. Halfway down, the helicopter burst into flames and parts of it broke off. The fiery remains crashed into the parking lot in a giant fire ball, setting many of the other cars around it on fire as well. Luckily, nobody had been in the lot at that time. However, Sonic frowned upon closer inspection of the parking lot. Amidst the flaming wreckage, Sonic was able to pick out the charred remains of what had once been his precious gold Bonneville. The helicopter had landed right on it.

"Dammit!," shouted Sonic, hitting the elevator wall with his gun," that's the third car this month!"

Sonic angrily tucked his Desert Eagle back into his belt and crossed his arms in irritation. Looking back down at the firestorm in the parking lot however, Sonic's , mood improved and he smirked, realizing that if the only casualties had been a few cars and Espio, who was a traitor anyway, then he'd just pulled off something most others couldn't. Well, both he **_and _**Tails had done it. Looking down at the crane, he could clearly see Tails at the controls. Sonic waved his hand in the air and gave Tails a thumbs up to which the kitsune returned the favor. Sonic then motioned for Tails to bring the crane closer to the elevator so he could get on it and escape. Tails obliged and started maneuvering the crane's arm slowly up to the elevator. While Sonic was waiting, he glanced down at the parking lot one more time. Thinking back to all the enemies he'd ever defeated, he realized this was the first time he'd ever shot down a helicopter with northing more than his Desert Eagle. With this gleeful thought on his mind, Sonic could think of only one thing to say.

"Yippee-ki-yay... mother f-"

**Crunch', 'Creeeaaak', 'Crumple'**

Sonic looked up in horror. Down below, Tails could see what had happened.

"**SHIT!**" both Sonic and Tails unknowingly yelled at the same time yelled.

The elevator had become far too damaged by the helicopter and had now broken free and was bending outward from the building. Tails saw Sonic grab onto the frame of the elevator and hold on for dear life as it continued to peel away from the building. For a moment it stopped and Sonic hung precariously from the remains of the elevator. Finally, the whole structure broke free and both it and Sonic were in free fall to the ground. Tails pulled the lever that rotated the crane as hard as he could. With the engine gunning, the crane was rotating as fast as it could, the hook and ball with Storm still attached to it moving right in the path of Sonic's fall. With every hair on end, Tails watched as the hook and Sonic got closer and closer to each other. For a split second, Tails' stomach twisted into a knot when Sonic rushed right past the hook and ball. But just as Sonic passed Storm's body, he threw out his arms and managed to grab hold of Storm's massive feet.

"SONIC! HOLD ON!" Tails shouted, though he was sure Sonic couldn't hear him.

Up above, Sonic began to climb his way up Storm to reach the hook of the crane. As he made his way up however, his eyes came to rest on the digital watch on Storm's wrist. In all this confusion, Sonic had nearly forgotten about the VX nerve gas bomb packed into Storm's corpse. Sonic was in for an even bigger shock when he glanced at the watch and saw that the timer now read one minute and counting. If nothing was done in the next minute, the three tanks of nerve gas would be unleashed upon Station Square and countless innocent people would die. Now frantic, Sonic hurried his way up to the hook and ball and faced Tails.

"TAILS! WE GOT LESS THAN A MINUTE! MOVE THIS CRANE AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" Sonic roared as loud as he could while motioning with his hands how much time they had left and for the crane to move.

Though Tails couldn't hear Sonic, he did understand the hedgehog's hand signals. Tails pulled another lever and started to rotate the crane clockwise away from the hotel. As the crane moved along, Sonic was desperately scanning the ground for somewhere they could drop Storm's body to protect the city. Looking back down at Storm's watch, they had thirty seconds to do just tat. Then Sonic saw it their chance. The hotel was situated in a large park area and inside that park was a huge lake that was clearly quite deep, hopefully deep enough that if they dropped Storm in it, it would save the city from a grizzly death.

"TAILS! STOP THE CRANE! STOP! NOW!" Sonic yelled while making a stopping motion.

Tails let go of the lever and the crane slowed to a halt. At this point, Tails still hadn't realized what Sonic had found to drop Storm in, because he was so focused on Sonic didn't bother to look down and see the lake. Checking the watch once again, Sonic saw they had twenty seconds left, and he began desperate trying to kick Storm free.

"COME ON, DROP! **DROP!** **DROP YOU ****GASBAG!** _**DROOOOOOOOOOOOP!**_" Sonic howled in desperation, trying to get the bird bomb to drop free.

It was at that moment Sonic realized what he could do. If he used his spin attack, his quills could cut the crane cable like it was twine. Feeling confident, tensed up his muscles and got into a stance to cut the line.

"HASTA LA VISTA... POLLY!" Sonic said joyfully.

Sonic rolled up into a ball and in an instant, the cable connected to the hook and ball was severed. A split second later, Sonic uncurled himself and reached up to grab the cable. He just managed to catch a glimpse of the watch and see that it was ten seconds until detonation. The hedgehog then reached up to grab the cable and watch as Storm plummeted down to the lake. But Sonic had made a costly mistake. He'd failed to realize that since the cable was under tension from having the heavy hook and ball on the end of it. The second the cable had been severed, it lost its tension and shot straight upward, far out of Sonic's reach. Realizing his mistake, Sonic had only a few seconds until he'd hit the water. But even if Sonic survived the fall and the bomb going off, there was still one major problem. He couldn't swim.

_"Dammit..."_ Sonic thought as he watched the lake speed towards him as he fell, _"...guess I'm gonna sleep with the fishes..."_

For what felt like an eternity, Tails watched as Sonic plummeted downwards after the detached crane hook and Storm. Every muscle locked as Tails looked down and saw that Sonic had positioned himself over a lake. The fox looked up just in time to see the crane hook and Storm crash into the lake with a huge splash on the far side of the lake. Then, a moment or two later, Tails watched as Sonic's body impacted hard onto the water and disappeared with another large splash.

"SONIC!" Tails shouted in fear as he busted out of the crane and used his Tails to fly over to the lake as fast as he could. But as Tails got closer to the lake, he saw that people began to crowd the lake, having seen all the events that had just unfolded. Realizing that everybody was still in danger the fox took out his PPK and started firing into the air to clear everybody out.

**'BANG'** "EVERYBODY OUT!" **'BANG'** "COME ON, GET OUT OF HERE!" **'BANG' 'BANG'** "EVERYBODY OUT, DAMMIT! OOOOOOUUUUUUT" **'BANG' 'BANG' 'BANG'**

By now everybody was running away as Tails continued to speed his way towards the lake. Flying over the lake, Tails frantically began searching for Sonic, knowing there had to be only seconds left.

"SONIC! WHERE ARE YOU, SONIC!? WHERE-"

A muffled blast and flash came from right below Tails. A split second later, a huge column of water shot up out of the lake right at the hovering fox. The water hit Tails with so much force and knocked his gun out of his hand and sent him spiraling down to the ground. Landing hard on the lake bank, Tails winced in pain as he tried to get back up. Managing to sit up, Tails watched as a fine mist of water settled back down on the lake. The bomb had been far more powerful than anybody could have anticipated, and surely it's contents had been released. For a moment, Tails could only think about the VX nerve gas that had just been detonated. Surely, any second now the gas wold reach him and begin a most gruesome death for him. But there was something missing. Tails knew that when nerve gas was detonated and rendered into an aerosol, it's effect were immediate. But Tails, other than the pain of having slammed into the lake bank, was fine. He was breathing and he wasn't feeling any effects from the nerve gas at all. Realizing that many times in the movies chemical bombs were rendered harmless by detonating them in water, Tails knew now that was the case for this movie, and a sense of relief started to overcome Tails. But it was short lived when Tails realized that Sonic had been in that lake when that bomb had gone off. Even if the chemicals didn't hurt him, the explosion would have killed him instantly. Standing up, Tails once again started frantically scanning the waters.

"SONIC! WHERE ARE YOU!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? SONIC!"

That's when a force greater than what the bomb had just let out hit Tails. It was so powerful that Tails' legs gave out and he ended up on his knees, staring at the ground.

_"Is he...dead?... No... it can't be... Sonic can't die... He can't be dead!...He..." _Tails thought_.  
_

Looking up one last time at the lake, it became quite obvious to him that nobody could have survived a blast like that. Tails fell backward and sat with his legs out in front of him. Resting his elbows on his legs, the fennec put his head into his hands and closed his eyes, sitting in complete silence, overcome with shock and grief that the unthinkable had occurred.

* * *

A bit shorter than some of the previous chapters, but action packed and exciting nonetheless. 

Tune in next time for the next exciting chapter of "Last Action Hedgehog." And, as always, all reviews and comments are greatly appreciated and accepted.

And lastly, one last thank you goes out to my fellow readers. You are the best.


	24. Misunderstandings & Deceptions

A/N - Just as a warning, this chapter has a bit of suggestive innuendos in it. It's nothing too bad, though. If you're sensitive to those sorts of things, than just don't read it. Simple as that. I'm only putting it in for a bit of comedy.

Also, I've officially put up a new story for y'all to enjoy. It's titled "Gone in Sixty Milliseconds" and can be found in my profile. Please check it out when you get a chance.

OK, enough talk. Here's chapter 24.**  
**

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**Chapter 24** - Misunderstandings & Deceptions

_"SON OF A BITCH!... This can't be true!... Sonic can't be dead!... They wouldn't kill him like this!..."_

Such were the thoughts that were clouding Tails' head as he sat by the lake where only seconds ago the chemical bomb he and Sonic had worked so hard to safely get rid of may have claimed the life of the only hero Tails ever had. Gloomily getting back to his feet, Tails walked over to the lake edge and looked upon what he decided was Sonic's final resting place. Admitting this thought in his head made the fox angry enough to bend down and grab a flat stone and hurl it at the lake. The stone started to skim across the lake, bouncing multiple times as it got further and further away from the bank. The stone then started to slow down and sink to the bottom of the lake where Sonic was. Lowering his head in silence, Tails waited for the stone to stop with a gentle splash, marking his acknowledgment of Sonic's death.

**'SPLOOSH'**

**"SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF THIS FREAKING WATER!"**

The only way Tails could have been more shocked wold have been if he'd been stuck by lightning. Snapping his head up, Tails spotted Sonic a few feet out in the lake, desperately trying to keep his head above the water, which he wasn't doing well with at the moment. Spinning his tails at full speed, the kitsune darted out across the lake to rescue Sonic. Arriving just in time to keep the drowning hedgehog from submerging to a watery grave, Tails' hands clamped onto Sonic's hand and started flying upward to pull Sonic out. This, however, was no easy task. The hedgehog and his clothes were drenched with water and covered with all kinds of pond scum and mud, thus making him far heavier than usual. This did not deter Tails in any way, and with a yell of strain and strength, Sonic finally lifted out of the water and Tails hastily flew him back over to the lake banks. Overcome with exhaustion, both heroes landed roughly on the bank and fell to the ground. Tails was breathing heavy, but he noticed Sonic, who'd been underwater for a pretty decent amount of time, wasn't.

"Sonic! Are you alright!? Say something!" Tails said, shaking the hedgehog's shoulder.

Sonic managed to get up on his hands and knees. Then, with a horrid wretching sound, Sonic first coughed out a mouthful of green and brown pond scum, the vomited up a stomach-full of water that he'd ingested. Quivering from having thrown up, Sonic lifted his head to look at Tails.

"Pond scum... tastes... like shit!" Sonic said, grimacing from the horrible tastes in his mouth.

Finally able to breath, Sonic breathed heavily, filling his lungs as much as possible with each breath he took. He was interrupted, however by Tails. Looking up again, he found Tails snickering. At first, Sonic felt like slugging Tails for laughing at him. But then he figured out that Tails was laughing because he was relieved. After all, the only bad thing that had happened to him was he found out that pond scum tastes bad and he took a bad swimming lesson. Realizing this simple fact, a smile came across Sonic's face and he joined in with Tails' laughter.

"Not too fond for pond scum... eh Sonic!?" Tails said, roaring with laughter.

"You want... to... try some?" Sonic said, in between gasps and laughs.

"Hell no!" Tails yelled back, now lying on the ground, holding his gut he was laughing so hard.

Finally regaining control of themselves, the two stood up and looked over the lake.

"Like I said Tails, all storms go out with a bang."

"Hahaha...I hear ya."

Sonic and Tails suddenly began to sniff the air.

"...Hey Tails... You smell that"

"Yeah...What is that?"

"You didn't just fart, did you?" Sonic asked.

"...Uhhhh...no..."

"Then what the hell smells so bad?"

"Uhhh...take a look at yourself, Sonic," Tails said, pinching his nose shut.

The hedgehog looked down to discover all of his clothes with soaked through and through with water, pond scum, mud, and who knows what else. Apparently, all these things put together made a lethal combination when it came to smells.

"I'm... gonna need... a change of clothes..." Sonic said, both of them starting to dry heave.

As if on cue, a loud engine from the nearby road gunned, catching their attention. Looking across the park, the both spotted a familiar looking pick up truck with giant tires and flame decals. The truck them sped its way across the park and pulled up next to them, a familiar pink face popping over the side of the truck looking at them.

"Hey guys! I heard you guys were here so I thought you might need some supplies. From the looks of things, I was right," Sonia said.

"Thanks sis, 'preciate it."

Sonic then jumped up into the bed of the truck.

"Dear god, Sonic! You stink!" Sonia exclaimed.

"Thanks for reminding me."

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait a second!," Tails said, hovering up and landing in the truck. "Do you realize how convenient this is, Sonic? Your sister showing up like this?"

"Must be my lucky day after all, Tails."

Tails slouched in his seat and rolled his eyes. Sonic had completely missed the point that this was how movies typically were when it came to convenient timing. The three of them then started back for the hotel for Sonic to change into some fresh clothes and try to wash up.

* * *

Tails and Sonia sat waiting at the entrance of the hotel for Sonic to return. Since Sonic was taking for what felt like forever, the two had decided to start making out in the bed of the truck due to boredom. As they continued to passionately kiss and hold each other, Tails' keen hearing picked up on a crescendo of loud thumps were eventually stopped right beside Sonia's truck. 

"Sooooooooooooniiiiiiiiiiiic! Were are yoooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu!?"

The dopey voice was instantly recognized by Tails.

"He's... inside the... hotel... getting changed... Big..." Tails said in between kisses.

"Duuuh, Tails? Where are you!?"

Tails waved a hand out of the bed of the truck so Big could see where they are.

"Oh, dere you are! OK, thankyou Tails!

As the obese cat waddled his way into the hotel, Tails looked passionately into Sonia's strikingly beautiful green eyes.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sonia."

"For get it... fox boy..."

Tails gave Sonia another quick kiss then raised his head again.

"Amazing... you make even I name I hate sound so good..."

"I'm glad you think so..."

Looking deep into each other's iris', they both knew that they were sharing a truly special moment. Not wanting to waste a single second of it, the the two youths' lips reconnected, but this time, they took it a step further. Sensual moans emenated from Tails and Sonia as they enjoyed a long, sexy French kiss.

* * *

Inside the hotel, Big had just spotted Sonic in a crowd of people and Mobians that filled the lobby. 

"Sonic! Dere you are! I have to tell you some-"

Big cut himself off when he saw that Sonic was facing Jet and Wave. The look on all three of there faces was hard to determine whether they were angry or just serious.

"I see that the rest of your posse is starting to arrive," Jet said,openly irritated.

"We should go, Jet," Wave suggested.

The hawk nodded his head in approval.

"Just remember what I told you, Sonic."

Sonic only nodded as the two birds turned an vanished.

"Sonic?" Big asked, a bit hesitantly.

"Yeah? 'Sup, Big?"

"Uhhhh... what was I gowing to say?... Oh! I saw you fall into da lake!"

"Who didn't?" the hedgehog said sarcastically.

"No, no, Sonic! Just afta you fell in da lake, I saw dat big guy with da gwass eye escaping from a building acwoss da street! He seemed super-duper happy abouwt someting."

"Really?"

"Uhh-huh! Not only dat, but Sonic, I think he was da one who called me eawier to come here today. I heard his voice when he fwagged down a taxi!"

"Good work, Big. Appreciate it. You stay here and take care of the situation when the rest of the police get here, OK? We'll go after the Eggman."

The cat chuckled at the appropriate name for Robotnik.

"OK den. Good luck, Sonic!"

"Thanks."

Sonic, now freshly clothed with a shiny new Desert Eagle, fought his way through the crowd and exited the hotel and found Sonia's truck again. He was just about to call out Tails and Sonia's names when he heard strange noises coming from the bed of the truck.

"Mmmmmm... oh Tails... have you ever done this before?..."

"N..no... but I'm loving it so far..."

Sonic's eyes widened at what he was hearing, both the words and moans. Unseen by Sonic, Tails and Sonia were enjoying their French kissing.

"Is it what you were expecting?" Sonia said, her voice suggestive of being pleasured.

"Mmph... It's more wet and warm than I thought... not that I'm complaining..."

Sonic's fists started to clench and his temple bean pulsing as he pieced together what was going on.

"Go deeper this time, Tails..."

"Gladly..."

Slowly, their moans increased in intensity as the two kissed deeper and deeper until what sounded like a climatic gasp came from the both of them. As Sonic had listened to his sister and Tails, the hedgehog's whole body began to vibrate with anger.

"That... was... amazing..." Tails said, a bit out of breath.

"For a first-timer, you're really good Tails..."

Gravity was the only thing keeping Sonic on the ground now.

"...Tails?..."

"Yeah...Sonia..."

"... I love you..."

"... I love you too..."

That was the last straw for Sonic. With a single bound he launched into the air and landed in the truck bed with a loud bang, making Tails look over his shoulder in surprise.

"Tails... off... NOW..." Sonic said, meaning business.

The fox did not hesitate to do as he was told. Once Tails had rolled off Sonia, he saw that she still had all her clothes on. This was unexpected, but to Sonic, it didn't necessarily mean that nothing had happened.

"Tails?... Remember yesterday when you asked me to shoot you in the head?" Sonic said, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Tails swallowed deeply, knowing that Sonic was truly pissed at him.

"Oh Sonic, will you chill out already!," Sonia said, getting to her feet. "We didn't do anything bad."

"You two were making more noise than a busted chainsaw! Don't tell me there wasn't anything going on up here!"

"Technically speaking, Sonic, a broken chainsaw couldn't make any noise because it wouldn't work to begin with,' Tails corrected.

A single look from Sonic told Tails it was time to shut up.

"Tails... yes or no... were you doing it with my sister?"

"Geez, Sonic! Will you-"

"Did you bump uglies with her!?" Sonic said over his sister.

"Sonic, enough al-"

"DID YOU DO THE HANKY PANKY WITH SONIA!? Sonic roared.

Sonia slapped Sonic's face just hard enough to get his attention.

"Dammit, Sonic! Enough! I'm not a little girl anymore! I can make decisions for myself! YOU GOT THAT!?"

Taking a deep breath, Sonic regained his composure.

"Alright... sorry. Whatever you two were doing doesn't matter. What does matter is this."

Sonic turned an faced Tails, who was still frozen in fear.

"Big told me that he spotted Eggman escaping a little bit ago, and that the fat bastard was pretty damn happy about something. I say we track him down and see what's on his mind."

Tails nodded slightly, not wanting to even remotely anger Sonic any more.

"Sonia, you are right. I can't control what you do. But I CAN control what you do with this truck, because-"

"I know, I know, I know! Cause you bought it for me!" Sonia said in a huff.

Seeing that things were cool now, Tails got to his feet and climbed into the passenger seat as Sonic hopped into the driver's seat and Sonia started to climb off the truck using it's wide step-up platform. Just before she hopped down though, she stopped and looked at her brother.

"Try to bring this thing back in one piece."

"You know I won't, sis."

"Yeah... I know..." she said, rolling her eyes. She then looked at Tails.

"Take care of yourself, Tails."

"I will, Sonia." As Sonic started the truck's engine, the two lovers decided to share one last kiss.

"AHEM!" Sonic said, catching them in the act.

Tails and Sonia separated themselves, keeping their eyes on each other.

"Sonia, you go find Big inside and stay with him. You'll be safe with him."

Sonia rolled her eyes and then jumped down from the truck. Looking up at Tails from the ground, she gave the fox one last wink. Tails blew her a kiss in return. Having enough romance for one day, Sonic mashed the gas as the truck did a wheelie away from the hotel. The sudden lurch of the truck almost sent Tails flying out of the truck, which was the intended effect Sonic wanted.

"What was that for!?" Tails yelled in shock.

"You know what that was for," Sonic said, looking over at Tails.

"It's not like I had sex with her, ya know."

"You even THINK about doing that Tails and it'll be the last thing I ever do."

"Sonic, I'm eight years old! You really think I'd lose my virginity this early!?"

"You were one step shy of that from what I saw."

"Oh give me a break already!"

"A break! You were making out with my sister! What did you expect me do to!? Let you have your way with her?"

"HOW ABOUT WATCHING THE ROAD!" Tails said, looking back to the road.

In the course of their argument, Sonic had let the truck wander into the opposing lane, and they were headed right for head-on collision with a semi-truck. Yanking the wheel to the right, Sonic corrected their path.

"Right...well... Let's go get the Eggman..." Sonic said, trying to play it cool.

"Good idea... He's probably heading for Vector's place. Let's go there," Tails suggested.

"Right," Sonic said, slamming the gas down. "It's payback time."

* * *

It was now late in the afternoon. Robotnik had just exited his cab and made his way up to Vector's mansion and knocked on the door. The servant Tanaka opened the door and allowed Robotnik to enter. No sooner had the door shut behind him when Vector's voice echoed throughout the house. 

"Robotnik, is that you!?"

Eggman shut his eyes in displeasure.

"Yes..."

"Excellent! Tell me, how did it go!?"

The last thing Robotnik wanted to do right now was have to talk with Robotnik.

"Come on, Robotnik! How did it go!?"

The fat man began grinding his teeth. He really wanted to just sit down and think right now.

"Will you move your ass already, Robotnik!"

"That's it..." Robotnik said somewhat quietly.

"What did you say?"

"Excellent... it was excellent!" Robotnik said with false enthusiasm.

"Come on in here! I can't hear you that well!"

Deciding there wouldn't be any time to think, Robotnik reluctantly walked into the huge living room of the house. He found Vector sitting on a stool at his swim-up bar on the pool side with a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Ah, Robotnik! Tell me how it all went. The gas, the people dying, the destruction. I want to hear about it all!"

"It was like clockwork, Vector. You should have been there," Robotnik lied, taking a seat on the house side of the bar.

Vector laughed with joy as he poured Robotnik a glass of red wine and handed it to him.

"Oh Vector, it was truly beautiful. People were writhing and shrieking in pain as the gas slowly stole their life away from them. Some bravely leaped from the roof to escape the pain, only to meet a grizzly end as they were splatted across the ground."

Vector was ecstatic.

"YES, YES, YES! Robotnik, please!... Please tell me this isn't too good to be true!"

"Actually... it is too good to be true. Sonic and that fox boy managed to kill Espio, get the bomb off the roof, and into a nearby lake. The gas was rendered useless, so the Babylon Rogues are still alive and well, as are Sonic and his fox friend."

Vector dropped his glass of wine into the pool and froze in his place with a mixture of horror, anger, and disbelief in his face, looking straight at Robotnik.

"Y...you're lying!..."

"No, I'm not... The mission was a complete failure," Eggman said smugly.

The croc let out a road of frustration as he threw his bottle of red wine across the room, which shattered into splinters and left a red stain on the white wall. He then slammed his fists on the table multiple times and glared into Robotnik's smug face.

**"YOU USELESS BASTARD! YOU'VE SCREWED UP IN THE PAST, BUT THIS TOPS THEM ALL! CAN"T YOU GET ANYTHING RIGHT! IN FACT," **Vector roared, reaching for something under the bar counter, **"YOU'VE SCREWED UP ENOUGH! DIE!"**

From under the counter Vector drew his golden .38 Petri revolver. But by the time Vector had the gun half way up, Robotnik had drawn his giant revolver and shot the gun clear out of the reptile's hand. Holding his now bleeding hand, Robtnik looked up at Robotnik.

"How stupid do you think I am, Vector? You think I couldn't see right through your greedy plan? I let it fail on purpose. I know all too well how effective VX nerve gas is. If Espio and I weren't miles away from that explosion, we'd have been killed. Even you house here is on the edge of safety as it is with how much gas we used. Therefore, your plan was to leave me and Espio behind to die from the gas while you took over the town and took all the benefits for yourself. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in any way."

Fire was burning in the reptiles eyes as he glared at the fat man, who was apparently smarter than he'd thought.

"Congratulations... You've figured it all out. So is this how you're gonna end it, Robotnik? Are you going to do a 360 on me and turn traitor?"

Robotnik's face sudden;y contorted with rage and he shot Vector in the chest. Letting out a yelp, Vector held his chest in pain as blood poured out between his fingers.

"180! **_180_**, you stupid, good-for-nothing, dumber-than-a-box-of-shit crocodile! Can't **_you _**get anything right!?" Robotnik roared.

"What?" Vector asked.

"If I did a 360 I'd have gone completely around and been you're friend in the end!"

"But you did a 180... so now you're the enemy!..." Vector seethed.

"**_Finally_**… you've gotten something right. Congratulations."

Robotnik pointed his revolver at Vector's head and pulled the trigger, striking the crocodile right between his eyes and went straight through to the other side, a spurt of blood shooting out as it did. Vector then tumbled backwards off his stool and fell into the water. Instantly, the clear waters were stained red from the blood leaking out of Vector's head as he floated lifelessly in the pool. Returning his revolver to it's holster, Robotnik smiled cheerfully as he took a sip of his wine.

"One down, two to go."

Suddenly, Tanaka ran into the room.

"Excuse me sir! I heard yelling and a gunshot. Is everything alright?"

Robotnik pointed at the pool. Looking inside, Tanaka spotted the body floating about in it.

"What... would you like me to do... Master Robotnik?" Tanaka asked nervously.

"I'd say emptying the pool would be a good idea."

"Yes sir..."

Tanaka obeyed his order and left the room, leaving Robotnik alone to do his thinking. As he sipped at his wine, the fat man began to think of what kinds of evil he could unleash now that Vector was dead. But he knew that Sonic and Tails were still in his way. That's when Robotnik reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out the gold chaos emerald. It was now lit up with the blue electric arcs like it had been the night before.

"Oh, the fun this little thing is gonna let me have."

* * *

Outside the house, Sonic and Tails had just pulled up to the driveway, pointing at the house. Sonic revved the truck's massive engine, it's torque causing the truck to rock in its place. 

"You gonna do what I think you're gonna do, aren't ya?" Tails asked.

Sonic only smirked.

* * *

A/N - So now you all know what Robotnik had been planning. I hope it was a bit of a mystery for those who have been reading along. 

Also, I hope you weren't too grossed out by Tails and Sonia's little moment. If that sort of thing bothers you, I apologize. I personally thought it was funny.

See ya next time!


	25. Back to the Real World

**Chapter 25** – Back to the Real World

Happily sipping his wine, Robotnik sat scheming the kinds of terror he would soon unleash on this world, as well as every world he could possibly find. The thought of the powers he'd just gained gave him a feeling of liberation unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Whatever world he went to would be his oyster. As these glorious plans flooded Robotnik's mind, the door bell to the house rang. With Tanaka busy doing as he was instructed, and Robotnik in no mood to answer the door himself, the fat man turned his back to the direction of the door. After waiting a few seconds, nothing more happened. Not hearing any more knocking or the bell, he relaxed.

_"Guess whoever it was went away... But... could it really have been-" _Robotnik thought.

A deafening crash came from the front of the house, along with the sound of an engine. More crashing, crunching, and sounds of destruction followed as the noise quickly grew louder. With one last loud bash, the large black pickup smashed through the wall Robotnik was and slammed on its brakes. The truck plowed though a few more pieces of furniture and decorations in the room, coming to a stop only a few feet behind Robotnik. Without even flinching, the fat man shut his eyes.

_"Hello Sonic... you bastard..."_

Robotnik coolly reached for his gun with his right hand while picking up his wine, in an attempt to hide what he was doing. The sound of a large caliber weapon made him stop.

"Don't even think about it, Eggman," Sonic said fiercely.

Eggman put his right hand at his side and stood up, facing Sonic, still holding his wine.

"Alright Sonic... I guess I'll go quietly..."

"You're damn right you will."

Suddenly, a scream from above echoed throughout the room. Looking up, Tanaka had performed a martial arts-style dive from the second story walkway at Sonic, his legs positioned to deliver a kick. Long before he got there, Tails flew up into the air and delivered his own kick attack to Tanaka's stomach. The butler yelped in pain as he fell backward and down into the ground into a pile of rubble. Tails then flew down to where Tanaka landed and forcefully pinned him up against the wall with his tails.

"Lotta help you are, Tanaka," Robotnik said, very sarcastically.

"Master... Robotnik.. I'm... sor-"

"Shut up!" Tails yelled, elbowing Tanaka in the groin.

With the butler whimpering and unlikely to be of any more trouble, Tails nodded at Sonic, telling him he had things under control. Sonic now turned his attention to Robotnik.

"We tried ringing, but nobody answered. Sorry if we're bothering you," Sonic said, his voice full of sarcasm.

"You're ALWAYS a bother, Sonic."

"Whatever, Eggman. Now, where's your boss, RoBUTTnik?"

"Hahaha... I AM the boss now," Robotnik said, then tilted his head towards the pool.

Sonic looked over the bar into the now red water. He spotted Vector floating lifelessly in the blood-stained water, along with the massive bullet hole in the reptile's forehead.

"What happened to Vector, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"He lost his head...sorta..." Sonic responded.

Robotnik laughed at Sonic's joke, which got the hedgehog's full attention.

"Amazing Sonic... even in a such grotesque situation, you find room for comedy."

Sonic pointed his gun at Robotnik's face, silencing him, but still retaining a slight smirk.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, Robotnik. I'd been hoping of having the pleasure of arresting Vector myself."

"Arrest? HA! Like you would have done that! You just wanted to kill him, like I have! Nothing you can do about it now, is there!?"

"You're right. But that doesn't take away the fact that I wanted to see him brought to justice. Guess that means I'll have to take it out on you."

Sonic's grip on his gun tightened, his finger poised on the trigger.

"That won't change a thing, Sonic..."

"I know that, but at least it'll bring a sense of justice."

"Since when have _you _cared about justice, Sonic."

"What did you say!?"

"You heard me! I know more about you than you may think, Sonic. Vector told me all about you. I know about your kid and that event with Shadow years back. Since then you've become an apathetic bastard who cares about nothing but killing anybody who even vaguely reminds you of your painful past."

Sonic only stared at Eggman, keeping his gain pointed straight at his head.

"I'm sure you already knew that fox boy," Robotnik said, turning to Tails. "Surely, with your mysterious ways of finding things out, you must know how horrid Sonic really is."

"Shut up, fat ass!" Tails yelled. "Sonic's not a bad guy! He's just gone through more trouble than what anybody should!"

"HA! You think Sonic gives a shit about you, fox boy! Sonic doesn't care about anybody but himself!"

"Then why has he done all that he's done with me so far!"

"Simple. Sonic uses everybody he meets to fulfill his desire to bring revenge on the world for the loss of his son. Sorry to say it fox boy, but you're a sock puppet to Sonic. Nothing more."

"Sonic would never do that! Not to me!" Tails yelled with rage.

Unseen by Robotnik, Sonic's gun was now quivering. Whether it was with rage or anguish, or both, was impossible to tell. Also, Sonic's teeth were bared, his breathing a bit heavy.

"You just don't get it, do you fox boy? Sonic never has or will care about you. He's only kept you with him to get to Vector and me to fill his need to kill. Someday soon, he's gonna take his hand out of your ass, leave you behind, and start using somebody else. Or... perhaps he might even give you the pleasure of letting you down and letting you die... just like he did with his son."

That was the last straw for Sonic. With a cry of anger, Sonic drop-kicked Robotnik in his gut. Robotnik toppled backwards, dropping his glass of wine, which broke upon landing, its contents spilling over the white marble floor. As Robotnik groaned in pain, Sonic tucked his Desert Eagle into his belt line, then walked over to the source of his anger. The hedgehog landed a punch to Robotnik's pointy nose that knocked off the fat man's glasses, revealing a glass eye with a red dice on it. Sonic picked up Robotnik's glasses as Robotnik howled in agony, his nostrils bleeding.

"I.. did... NOT," Sonic roared, crushing the glasses in his fist, "let my son down."

Tossing the remains of the glasses aside, Sonic grabbed Robotnik by his tuxedo, and in an incredible amount of strength, hurled the huge man across the room through the air. Tails dove out of the way as Robotnik collided with Tanaka and the two landed on top of each other. Robotnik tried to get up, but looking up, he found Sonic looking at him from across the room, Desert Eagle in hand.

"You think you're so innocent, Robotnik? You think I don't have a right to kill you? So far you've killed my friend Silver, blown up his house, blown up blown up my sister's house, gave my sister a black eye, as well as try to kill me along with the city, and insulted my son... all of them mistakes..."

In Tails' mind, he knew that Sonic's signature line was about to be said. Almost always, this line was followed by him killing somebody. Sure enough, Sonic raised his gun and aimed it right at Robotnik.

"BIG... MISTAKES..."

The time it took for Sonic to put his finger on the trigger felt like an eternity, but once he did, the hedgehog's finger pulled the trigger back.

**'KUHGOW' **

In a split second it was all supposed to be over. Robotnik would be dead and all the plans he and Vector had made would be gone. Tanaka, however, had had plenty of time to recover from his pain. Due to that, he was able to reach up and pulled Robotnik down just in time. The bullet missed Robotnik by what was probably no more than half a centimeter and sailed over him into the wall.

"You lucky son-of-a...What the hell!?" Sonic said.

Something strange had happened. When the bullet hit the wall, it seemed to have disappeared in a small flash of blue light. Robotnik had landed looking up and saw what had happened. A full-faced smile spread over Eggman's face as he looked over at Sonic. Before the hedgehog could aim his gun for another shot, Robotnik rolled towards the wall, pulling Tanaka with him, and they both passed straight through the wall in a blue flash of light. Sonic stood bewildered at what he'd just seen.

"What's going on here!? First my bullet doesn't leave a hole, now Robotnik and his butler materialize through a wall!"

Tails' eyes shot wide open, knowing what had just happened.

"The emerald... Sonic... he's still got my emerald!"

Tails ran up to the wall and stuck his hand straight through it. A blue aura formed around his hand, glowing white and emitting a high-pitched whirring noise.

"You see Sonic! I told you! That emerald is magic! It's how I was able to get here, and it's how those guys escaped! They've just gone over to my world! If we hurry, we can get through before this passage way closes!"

Sonic approached and stuck his hand through, just like Tails, then quickly retracted it.

"Oh my God... you really weren't kidding about that emerald..."

Sonic put his hand in again, this time keeping it there.

"Come on, let's go!" Tails said.

"Wait!... If I go through with you... how am I gonna get back to this world without the emerald?"

"Were gonna take Robotnik down, get that emerald back, and get you home! I PROMISE! Now come on, LET'S GO!"

Sonic looked down at the little fox. He smiled his signature smile at him.

"What the hell. Let's do it!"

The two jumped forward, right into the wall.

* * *

Everything glowed white and there was a strange rushing sound. Then Tails and Sonic felt their feet hit solid ground. The first thing Sonic did was look over at his shoulder. 

"Well... a fat load a good THAT did... we're still here!" Sonic said, looking at the black pick up in Vector's house.

"Take a closer look, Sonic."

Sure enough, looking again, Sonic saw that what he was looking at wasn't really Vector's house, but was actually an image of the house on a movie screen. Continuing to look around, he saw for sure that they were in a movie theater. At the exact same moment, the two Mobians noticed something else. There was a section of the theater floor that seemed to have been blown apart.

"What the hell happened in here?" Sonic said.

"Oh damn! Sonic, when you were being chased by that red truck in the movie one of the dynamite wads came out of the screen and into this theater! That's what made me come into your world!"

"I thought it was weird that I never heard that dynamite go off. I'm a pretty good shot, but it's pretty hard to shoot out a fuse while driving a car."

"I gotta go see if my friend Chuck is OK!"

Tails went to run off, but Sonic stopped him.

"No time! LOOK!"

Up ahead, the two saw Robotnik and Tanaka running down a hallway to the front of the theater and escape out the front door. Sonic and Tails followed. Once they went through the front door, however, Sonic stopped in his tracks as.

"What the HELL!?... This can't be... is it... Station Square?"

"It is Sonic. This is my Station Square. This is my world."

Sonic was terrified by the decrepit cityscape he saw before himself. It was night, raining a bit, worn out buildings and dirty streets in every direction, and the sound of sirens wailing in the night. Across the street, Sonic spotted Robotnik throw a driver out of a checked taxi cab and push Tanaka into the driver's seat, then stuffed himself into the back of the cab. As the taxi began to drive away, Sonic took out his Desert Eagle and aimed it at the cab.

"Get ready for an awesome explosion, Tails."

Sonic fired seven shots into the escaping taxi. But to the hedgehog's confusion, three things that he didn't expect happened. First of all, the cab didn't explode. Second, while the cab did have bullet holes in it's trunk and side, they were miniscule in comparison to the huge bullet holes Sonic was used to seeing. Lastly, the slide on Sonic's gun now remained open, meaning he'd run out of bullets.

"Sonic, listen to me. There's a few things you need to know about-"

"Tails, shut up and let's go!"

A few feet away was a parked forest green 1999 Honda Civic. Sonic ran over to the driver's side and hit the window hard with his right elbow. Though the window did shatter, Sonic recoiled in pain, holding his elbow while wincing and seething. Ignoring the pain as best he could, Sonic got in and unlocked the other door so Tails could get in. Sonic then quickly hot-wired the car and mashed the accelerator. Rather than getting the pleasing tire screech Sonic was used to from his Bonneville, the wimpy four cylinder engine slowly revved up to speed and the car started away without any wheel spin.

"What the? Can't this thing go any faster!? What kinda engine does this piece of shit have!?"

"This is a Honda Civic! It's built for fuel economy, not speed."

Out of irritation, Sonic punched the dashboard, only to wince in pain again.

"OOOWWW!... my elbow... really freakin' hurts!"

"Duh! You think you can just break a window with your elbow and not have it hurt? I told you, things work differently here."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up! Think ya could taken any longer to tell me!?"

Taking a hard right turn, Sonic spotted a taxi driving erratically up ahead. Sonic started weaving through the traffic.

"Hey Tails..."

"What?"

"...You think that taxi just happened to be bulletproof?"

"Give me a break, Sonic! I told you! THINGS...WORK...DIFFERENTLY...HERE!"

Quickly growing tired of the ways of this new world, Sonic mashed the accelerator and began weaving through traffic, trying desperately to catch up with the escaping taxi. Unexpectedly, the taxi turned off the main road and into an alleyway. A few seconds later, the pursuers reached the same alley and turned into it. They quickly came to a stop, however, when they found the taxi stopped at the other end of the alleyway, facing them, engine revving. Sonic started to rev the engine of the little Civic, terrifying Tails out of his mind.

"No way Sonic... NO WAY... You can't do that here..."

"I can get him...," Sonic said fiercely, revving the engine again.

"Please listen to me... In this world, you CAN get hurt, you CAN feel pain, you HAVE to reload guns, and car crashes-"

The taxi started forward, as did Sonic.

"I got you, Robotnik!" Sonic shouted.

"SONIC! Car crashes WILL kill you! CAR CRASHES WILL KILL YOU!"

Sonic's fists were clenched to the steering wheel and his foot had the pedal to the metal. Looking up ahead, the taxi was quick approaching, and within seconds, if neither car stopped, would collide

"WERE GONNA DIE!" Tails shrieked, hoping to stop Sonic.

It was no use. In a snap decision, Tails threw open his door and jumped out of the moving car. He hit the ground hard an immediately fell to the ground, rolling multiple times and landing in a deep puddle, face down. Groaning with pain, Tails looked up. Every hair on the kitsune's body stood up on end. Both cars were literally less than a car-length apart, neither one slowing down or applying the any brakes. Once again, for what felt like an eternity, Tails could only watch as the inevitable unfolded before his eyes. With the sound of a bomb going off, the two cars collided. The force caused the rear ends of each car to shoot up to a forty-five degree angle. At that point, Tails, despite lying in a puddle, head his head to the ground and put his hands over his head as parts from both cars rained down around him. With two additional slams, both cars returned to the ground. Then, all was silent. Slowing looking, up, Tails found himself surrounded by various taxi and Honda car parts, as well as facing what were the crushed remains of the cars the parts belonged to. Tails started looking closely at the wrecked cars, hoping to see signs of life.

"...Oh God no..."

The fox saw the last thing he wanted to see. Though it was hard to see both cars clearly, as smoke was billowing out from the car's radiators, both cars had a liquid on it's windshields and hoods. A red substance. Blood, and lot's of it. Too much of it. Enough of it to tell Tails a most horrible truth. With how much blood was present, plus the fact that real world rules now applied, somebody was, without a doubt, killed in the accident.

* * *

A/N - Bet y'all really hate me now. Gotta love them cliffhangers. XD

I just wanted to inform you that I'm considering starting a brief Sonic holiday season story. The idea hit me yesterday and I wanna see how it works out. I only say this because if I like how it goes well, then the next updates for my current stories will come a little later. If I don't like how it turns out, then I'll go right back to work on these stories.

Anyways, leave a comment if you have one, and keep an eye out for my holiday story if I turns out good enough for me to post. Later!


	26. Discovering the Real World

**Chapter 26** – Discovering the Real World

Just as a friendly notice, if you haven't re-read the alterations made to chapter 6, "A Bad Night," from a few months ago, you may want to do that now, as this chapter references something from that chapter. The events in this chapter will make a bit more sense if you've read it.

If you've already read the changes, then sit back and enjoy chapter 26!

* * *

Somebody was dead. There was no denying it. With that much blood and that hard of a collision, somebody was without a doubt dead. Suddenly, one of the horns on the cars sounded briefly, making Tails flinch. Somebody might still be alive. Hopping to his feet, Tails sprinted towards the wreckage, hoping, praying, pleading Sonic was still alive. Just as Tails reached the car Sonic had been driving it's driver door opened ever so slightly, stopping Tails in his tracks. Sonic fell out of the Civic and onto the ground with a moan. 

"Sonic!" Tails cried, racing to the hedgehog's side.

Sonic very slowly pushed himself up from the ground so that he was on his hands and knees. He was shaking and making noises suggesting he was in pain.

"Son…of…a…_bitch_……that…**_really_**…hurt…," Sonic said slowly, his voice a bit shaky.

"Do you have any idea how freakin' lucky you are!? A crash like that should have killed you!"

"I'm not stupid, OK?" Sonic said, pushing himself up onto his knees. "I knew I'd be alright."

"What'd ya do!? Call a psychic hot-line as you raced down the alley!?"

Sonic finally got back onto his feet and pointed to the inside of the car.

"This car has a little something called **_airbags_**. They help people survive crashes, like I just did. Now, that checkered cab over there, _doesn't _have airbags, as he found out."

Sonic pointed at Tanaka, who had crashed through the windshield of the taxi. He was lying dead on the hood, a stream of blood running down from his face and a windshield wiper sticking out the back of his head.

"So, looks like we got them, Tails."

"Not so fast, Sonic. Robotnik might not be dead.

Sonic did a double take on the fox.

"Are you kidding me? Seriously, are you kidding? Look at that thing! Look at_ him_! There's no way anybody survived in there!"

"And for all we know he could be lying down in the back seat ready to kill us as we stand here arguing!"

"TAILS! LOOK! It's totaled! No survivors! Dead!"

"DAMMIT, SONIC! JUST CHECK IT TO BE SAFE! I'VE SEEN PLENTY OF MOVIES WHERE THE GOOD GUY THINKS THE BAD GUY IS DEAD AND ENDS UP GETTING HIS ASS SHOT OFF BECAUSE THE BAD GUY WAS STILL ALIVE!"

"FINE! WHY DON"T YOU COVER MY BACK, THEN! MAYBE ROBUTTNIK WILL TRY TO STRANGLE ME WITH HIS SEATBELT!"

Sonic stomped over to the rear of the cab while taking out his Desert Eagle. When he opened the door it fell right off the car it was so damaged. But both of them were in for quite a shock. Robotnik was gone. There wasn't anything to even suggest he'd been in the car when it crashed. Tails' young mind quickly contemplated all the possibilities of what happened. The answer hit him like lightning.

"...The emerald... he must have used the emerald... It must be working all the time now... Maybe he can probably use it anytime, anywhere now..."

Tails looked up at Sonic. The hedgehog's green eyes were fixated on something down the other end of the alleyway. It was a huge billboard. On it was a giant picture of Sonic, dressed in his signature attire and surrounded by an explosion-like background. Beneath the picture were the words "He's back," followed by "Sonic the Hedgehog IV." Tails looked at Sonic, who looked to be terrified out of his mind.

"Tails... you know a place I could sit down?... Somewhere quiet?..."

"Yeah... come on... we'll go back to the theater."

It took a while for Sonic to turn away from the billboard. When he finally did, the two of them slowly started to make their way back to the movie theater. At this point, Tails knew that words could not describe the the confusion or feelings Sonic was going through right now.

* * *

Somewhere across Station Square, Robotnik was walking down the street of a neighborhood even worse than the one he'd started out in when he came out of the movie theater. Despite the incredibly late hour of the night, loud music was being played by people on the streets, cars street raced despite the traffic lights and stop signs, people were engaging in illegal gambling games, and overall the amount of filth around was disgusting. Looking around, Robotnik gave the street a disgusted scowl. 

"_I don't see how anything good can come from this place... In fact, I almost wish I was back in the world I came from... at least there things were better than-"_

**'BANG, BANG, BANG'**

The gunshots made Robotnik jump and hide behind a pile of trash randomly piled up on the block. A few houses in front of him, Eggman saw a purple weasel with a brown hat sprint from the building. The weasel then ran down the rest of the street and vanished into the night. Rather than trying to follow the weasel, Robotnik stayed hidden, expecting that the police would show up any second now and people would be running in fear. But strangely, at least to Eggman, nothing happened.There were no cops, no sirens, no people running. People that had actually been in front of the building the weasel came from continued about their business as if nothing had happened. Robotnik was perplexed by these strange situations.

"_This is weird... something should have happened by now... unless... Could it be that this world works differently than the previous one?... Perhaps things can be more easily accomplished here?..."_

Just then Robotnik noticed a newspaper lying in the pile of trash he was hiding behind. What caught his eye was a picture of the same weasel he'd just seen run from the house, along with a news story to go with it.

"_Hmmm... so his name is Nack the Weasel, A.K.A. Fang the Sniper... and he's a known thief who's been terrorizing this city for quite some time now... yet he hasn't been caught a single time... This guy seems to know what he's doing... I'll bet he knows a thing or two about this world... Perhaps I could... _**_learn_**_... from him..."_

Realizing Nack was quickly getting away, Robotnik got up from his hiding place and started following the same path he'd seen Nack take.

* * *

Back across town, Tails and Sonic arrived back at the theater and proceeded inside and up to the projection room. Though it was a long shot, Tails hoped that despite what happened to the theater that Chuck was still around. Reaching the room, Tails motioned for Sonic to hang back. Tails peaked into the room and spied an old man staring at the many posters on the wall. 

"CHUCK!"

Chuck visibly flinched and pivoted around to the voice. The fox towards the old man and the two of them shared a tight hug.

"Tails! Thank God you're alright! I didn't know if you were in the theater before the bomb went off!"

Tails forced himself away from the hug and looked up at his elderly friend.

"Chuck, didn't you see what happened!?"

"Well... I saw the aftermath. Something blew away half of this theater."

"NO! Did you see what happened to me!?"

"Well no, Tails. I fell asleep shorty after the movie started. The next thing I knew I woke up to what sounded like a scream and there was a loud explosion. All the lights went out and the projectors turned off. I then spent time trying to find you, but when I didn't, I've been hoping ever since that you'd managed to escape. Did you manage to get out in time?"

"Yeah! I went into the movie!"

Chuck looked at Tails as if the fox had two heads.

"Tails.. did you just say you went_ **into **_the movie?"

"Yes! And that explosion was from dynamite that came out of the movie!"

Chuck was utterly confused.

"Tails... what are you saying?"

The kit's excitement peaked. His hands were shaking and his Tails started to spin about, just about lifting him off the ground.

"It was the gold emerald, Chuck! It works! It activated somehow and the dynamite came out. I ran into the movie and fell right into Sonic's car! I WENT THROUGH THE MOVIE WITH SONIC! I was in the big car chase, made out with Sonia the Hedgehog, played chicken with Robotnik's car, and even dropped Storm the Albatross into a lake to save the movie Station Square from a nerve gas bomb! I WAS WITH SONIC THE HEDGEHOG EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!"

During Tails' excited rant, Chuck's jaw had dropped open and his eyes were wide in disbelief.

"You... you're saying that... that... the emerald... actually worked?"

"Yes! It does work! It really does!"

Tears began to fall from the old man's eyes as he covered his mouth with his hand in disbelief.

"All these years I had that emerald... and I never used it because... because I was too frightened... But it works! And it's not too late! I can still go back and see all the great actors I loved in my youth! I can see some of the finest works of motion pictures ever created by the most famous and renowned-"

Chuck noticed a blue hedgehog standing in the doorway, dressed in an incredibly familiar attire.

"Oh... please forgive me for yammering on like that. Um... you are?"

"Chuck... you know who it is," Tails said quietly.

Chuck's eyes lit up.

"You... you mean that's..." and Chuck mouthed the words 'Sonic the Hedgehog.'

Tails nodded with a smile.

"Wow... Sonic, this is a truly wonderful moment for me. I've never met a... well...a-"

"Fictional character?" Sonic finished.

"Well... yes... But still, I'm sure this must be just as exciting for you, Sonic," Chuck said, walking over to the hedgehog and offering to shake hands.

"That's easy for_ you _say," Sonic said with a scowl as he walked past Chuck and slouched down onto a chair, looking at the floor. "Let me ask you something._ Both _if you. How would_ you_ feel if you were just imaginary? How would_ you_ feel if everything about you was made up... your life... your job... your marriage... your friends... your kids... Oh yeah, and speaking of kids let's kill your son by dropping him off the roof of a building so you can have nightmares the rest of your life and always be miserable... But hey, I'm fictional, so who gives a rat's ass!..."

The hedgehog looked up as the others.

"I'm sorry, but I don't find any of this exciting. It downright sucks to find out that everything I've ever known was just a_ damn_ movie..."

Sonic returned his eyes to the floor, his depression self-evident. Tails and Chuck took seats right next to Sonic. Tails was a bit amazed at how eloquently the hedgehog had spoken. He also had never looked at fictional characters in such a way, but such thoughts were quickly pushed out of the young kit's mind with all that was going on.

"Your words are admirable, Sonic. I understand what you are saying. I apologize for letting my emotions get the better of me an not watch what I was saying," Chuck said.

Sonic looked up at Chuck and gave him a smirk, telling him it was OK.

"But if I may, Sonic, I'd like to say it still really is a pleasure to meet you. I've been in show-business my whole life, but nothing this exciting has ever happened. But at this point... it looks like this'll be the last bit of excitement I get from this theater."

"What do you man, Chuck?" Tails asked.

"I'm sure both of you have seen just how damaged this theater is now. Needless to say, this whole place is shot. Nobody's gonna want to repair it, and I sure can't afford to fix the place up. It was bad enough to begin with, but now it's beyond repair, and coming form me, that's saying something. So, the authorities that investigated this place after the explosion said I have until midnight tomorrow night to get all my stuff out, as this place is no longer inhabitable. Then they'll do their investigation, and once that's done, this place is gonna be demolished."

Sonic and Tails looked at Chuck with a concerned look on their faces.

"Midnight?..." Sonic said.

"Tomorrow?..." Tails continued.

"Don't worry, guys! It's OK! Now that I know that emerald works, there isn't a problem."

"Uhh..." Sonic said with a nervous chuckle.

"Chuck... there is a problem..."

"What?"

"...Robotnik's here too, and he's got the emerald."

Chuck gasped in horror and looked at the fox in disbelief.

"You man that fat man with the glass eye!?"

Tails nodded.

"Oh we gotta get that back from him, Tails. Who knows what that madman will do with it... Hey... wait a second..."

Chuck turned to Sonic.

"If Robotnik has the emerald, how in the world are you gonna get back to your... well, world?"

"That's a damn good question, Chuck. According to Tails, we gonna take Robotnik down, get the emerald back, and get me home. _Right Tails? _We'll be able do kill Robotnik in this huge, alternate form of Station Square, get the emerald back, which seems to have taken a liking to Robotnik, and get me home to a theater that's being closed in a day."

There was a very uncomfortable silence after this. It was eventually broken by a nearby telephone ringing, which Chuck answered.

"Hello?... Yes, this is he... No, he isn't...Yes, I'm sure!... What's that supposed to mean!?... Look, I'm not stupid, OK? Miles Prower is not and has not been in this theater tonight... Yes, I will... Good night."

Chuck hung up the phone and looked to Tails.

"That was the police, Tails. There's an amber alert out for you. You'd better get home, fast."

Tails nodded and looked to Sonic.

"He's right. We better go."

"Where should I stay?" Sonic asked.

"Leave that to me."

Sonic looked at the fox curiously, but they both got to their feet and started to leave.

"Sonic! Tails!"

The two stopped and looked back around.

"Good luck, guys."

The two nodded and left. Chuck listened as the two Mobians' footsteps echoed eerily through the silent theater, and with a final loud slam, left through the rear metal door. Upon hearing that, Chuck sat down in his favorite chair and looked up at a picture of Harry Houdini on the wall.

"You weren't lying about that emerald after all..."

Chuck continued to look around the projection room. It was so hard for him to accept that this would be his last night here. Growing comfortable, the old man prepared to enjoy one last night of sleep in the theater that had done so much for him. Just before drifting off, Chuck hoped that he could leave his theater on a positive note by making sure Sonic got sent home safe.

* * *

It was about 3 A.M. now. Robotnik was walking down yet another decrepit street in one of the worst parts of Station Square. The whole time he'd been looking for Nack, but the weasel had completely disappeared. Still, Robontik had learned some interesting things about the city as he meandered his way around. Among many small facts, Robotnik learned the the police here weren't as likely to strike. Despite being dressed in a white tuxedo and walking down a crime-ridden street, a police car that had driven by him didn't stop. This made Robotnik wonder just how easy it was to escape the police here. He'd been looking for a way to test it ever since. Suddenly, a faint gunshot rang out about a block ahead, and a purple weasel ran from another building. Knowing it was Nack, Robotnik picked up his pace in the hopes of catching up with him. A few blocks later Robotnik rounded a corner. Nack sorting through a small a duffel bag that was surely filled with things he had stolen. Some items were on the street, others were still in the bag. Walking up slowly behind Nack, Robotnik came up with the perfect test plan. 

"Excuse me..." Robotnik said.

Nack rocketed around, drawing his revolver as he did. Robotnik put up his hands, hoping his plan wasn't going to fail that quickly.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" Nack said fiercely.

"Woah, woah, woah! Relax... I just wanted to know if you had... a cigarette."

Nack didn't drop his gaze or his gun from the fat man before him.

"Are you a cop?"

"Cop? A cop!? HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's funny! Look at me! You really think that a cop would dress like this? Or would just be out wandering the streets like this at this hour? Or how about my glass eye? Did you notice that? Do you really think a cop would be walking around with an obvious glass eye like me?"

"Ever heard of a sting operation, asshole?"

"Of course. I've nearly been busted by them many times."

Nack studied the fat man carefully, especially the glass eye, which depicted a skull and crossbones. Robotnik had changed eyes earlier, as he always carried a small case with different eyes in it. Slowly but warily, the weasel lowered his revolver.

"Alright then. I got some cigarettes. Take one, then beat it!"

Robotnik motioned with his hands that was fine. Reaching into his duffel bag, Nack pulled out a pack of expensive cigarettes and held it out to Robotnik. The doctor took one and tucked it behind one of his ears.

"Now beat it!" Nack ordered.

"What? No light?"

With an exasperated sigh, Nack took out a rather fancy gold zippo lighter from his bag and flicked it on. Robotnik lit the cigarette and held it in his hand.

"Thank you."

"Just get out of here, alright!?"

"Actually, if you don't mind... I would like to ask you something."

Nack rolled his eyes, and began to pack all his stolen items into his bag, eager to move on.

"Make it quick."

"What do you think is more likely to kill you...a cigarette?... or a bullet?"

"What the hell kinda question is that?"

"Just answer it."

"A bullet! There, happy!"

"Why's that?"

"Damn, do you have any intelligence at all!? Cigarettes take a long time to kill you! A bullet can kill you instantly!"

A faint click came from behind Nack. Looking over his shoulder, he found himself looking point-blank down the barrel of Robotnik's revolver.

"Precisely."

** 'KAPOW'**

Nack's head basically exploded and he fell lifelessly to the ground in his own blood and brain matter, his hat rolling up next to his body as he fell to the ground.. But Robotnik wasn't looking at the dead weasel now. Instead, he was looking at his watch, counting the seconds since he'd fired his gun. A full minute passed, but to Robotnik's pleasure, nobody seemed to have noticed. That's when Robotnik decided to get very daring.

"HELLO!?," Robotnik yelled, his voice echoing up and down the street. "I JUST SHOT SOMEBODY, AND I DID IT ON PURPOSE!"

There was nothing but dead silence.

"I SAID, I HAVE MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD!"

Still, not a single sound but his voice broke the silence.

"I GUESS NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT WHAT I'VE DONE, HUH!?

"Would you just shut already! GEEZ!" said an unseen voice from above in an apartment building.

Convinced nothing was going to happen, Robotnik happily put his revovled in it's holster and rummaged through Nack's bag. There wasn't anything Robotnik found useful for himself until he reached the bottom. He found a pair of dark, round glasses, just like the ones Sonic had broken. Robotnik gladly took them and placed them on his face. Just as he was about to leave, Robotnik noticed a few video tapes Nack had stolen. One of them in particular caught his eye. He picked it up and put it into one of his pockets. Suddenly, a car came down the street. Seeing it was a taxi and not a police car, Robotnik waited until the taxi had gotten close and he flagged it down. It came to a stop next to him. Turning back to the dead weasel, Robotnik took out his revolved and emptied the remaining five rounds into the already lifeless body. Eggman than put his gun back and got into the cab, as if nothing happened.

"Take me to the nearest all-night cafe," Robotnik said.

The cab began to drive away, the driver not saying a single word.

"I'm sure you saw what I did, right?"

The unseen driver nodded his head.

"Are you going to turn me in?"

The driver shook his head no.

Robotnik grinned.

"_I'm really starting to like this place,_" he thought to himself.

* * *

It was close to four in the morning now as both Tails and Sonic approached at kit's home. Tails motioned for Sonic to stand off to the side of the door to go inside. 

"Alright, Sonic. Just follow my lead, and it'll be OK."

Tails then took out his house keys, the only thing he hadn't lost inside the movie. He put the key in the lock and twisted it. He'd only opened the door about an inch when it was wrenched open from within. Tails' mother Rosemary stood in front of him, wide eyed and breathing heavy.

"Where have you been!…" she said in a forceful but quiet voice while she fought to hold back tears. "Do you even know what time it is? The police have been looking all over for you! **_I_** looked all over for you! Where the **_hell_** were you, Miles!? You weren't here, you weren't there, you weren't **_anywhere_**! Do you have any idea how scared I've been all night while-"

"Mom! Mom! It's okay! Shhhhhh!"

Rosemary couldn't take it anymore. With tears flowing freely from her eyes she grabbed her son by his shoulders and got down to eye lever with him.

"Ok, shhhhhh?_ OK, sh__hh__hhh!? _Miles, I thought you were dead! DEAD! I thought that after you left the police station you followed the thief that broke in here earlier tonight and that he murdered you somewhere out on the streets! But I just got a call saying the same thief was found shot six times not too far from here!... DID YOU DO IT!?" Rosemary began shaking her son, growing hysterical. "Oh dear God, Tails! PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN'T CHASE THAT WEASEL DOWN AND MURDER HIM! MILES! TELL ME! _TELL ME_! **_TELL MEEEEEE!"_**

**_"MOOOOM!_**," Tails yelled back, pulling his mother's hands of his shoulders and holding them in his owns hands. "Listen to yourself!... I'm alright, I swear I am."

The mother fox looked into her son's eyes. With even more tears falling, she embraced Tails tightly, the young fox returning the favor. After about a minute of Rosemary sobbing into Tails' shoulder, she stood back up.

"Come inside Tails. I'll feel better with you in here."

"Hold on a second mom... Remember how you always wished I had more friends? Well..."

Tails looked over and motioned for Sonic to show himself. The hedgehog came into the doorway and faced Rosemary.

"Hi Mrs. Prower... The name's Sonic... Sonic the Hedgehog."

Rosemary only looked back in disbelief. She motioned for the two of them to come in, still looking incredulously at the hedgehog. Rosemary and Sonic were looking at each other in an interesting fashion. Out of the corner of Sonic's eye, he saw Tails watching them warily.

"Tails... I think you could use some sleep, bud..." Sonic suggested.

Tails would have put up a fuss, but the truth was he was tired. He gave Sonic a slap on the shoulder and hand signal to his mother to tell them both he was off to sleep. Tails watched as his mother and Sonic went into the kitchen. He was sure his mother was going to question who Sonic was, and if he was really who she thought he was. Though he wanted to ponder what might be said, exhaustion was quickly overcoming Tails. Tails kicked off his shoes and tossed all of his clothes into a pile by his bed. Flopping down onto the cool mattress, Tails pulled his sheets over him and was asleep in under a minute.

* * *

Robotnik was sitting in an all-night cafe. Though he appeared a bit tired, he was engaged in a conversation with somebody sitting with him. 

"So what are you saying?" Robotnik's company asked in a low, evil voice.

"I'm saying the possibilities are endless. If you do this right, then the world will become your oyster... your pot of gold... your dream-come-true... You would have the complete freedom to do as you please, even beyond your wildest dreams... which for **_you..._** is saying something."

Robotnik's listener was silent.

"I understand all of this is rather confusing and new to you. But trust me, if you help me, you'll never have to return to where I brought you from.

The listener pondered this for a good long while.

"Alright.. I'll help you. What do you need me to do?"

Robotnik put a paper down on the table they were both sitting at.

"Wait... that's not him... is it?"

"Yes, it is. It's just him from _this _world. They are both one and the same."

"Fine. I don't care which one it is, as long as it's one of them."

"Thank you very much... Shadow."

Robotnik held out his hand. From across the table, the black and red hedgehog, dressed in his signature black trench coat, chain mail vest, and black undershirt, reached out and shook Robotnik's hand.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this opportunity. And from what you've told me, it'll be much easier to do it in this world than it ever was in _there_."

Shadow pointed at a videotape lying on the table. It's label read "Sonic the Hedgehog III." It was the same tape Robotnik had taken after he killed Nack.

"My pleasure Shadow."

The black hedgehog grinned evilly and left the table. From out of one of his pockets he pulled his black emerald. He then proceeded outside and activated his hover shoes and skated off down the street. A flash indicated Shadow had tele-ported away using his emerald to complete the task Robotnik had set for him.

* * *

A/N- Those with good memory may recall Shadow's attire was slightly different in the earlier chapters. I changed his attire to the trench coat because it seemed a bit more him. 

Also, you'll notice this chapter was very long. This will probably be my last update for about two weeks because my finals for college start later this week and run through next week. Therefore, I'll be studying like mad and might not be able to do to much here.

So, I hope this chapter will pacify you guys for now. I'll see y'all once my finals are done.

Take care!


	27. Uncomfortable Situations

**Chapter 27** – Uncomfortable Situations

The sounds of conversation work Tails from his deep slumber. Peering groggily over at his alarm clock, Tails saw that it was almost two o'clock. A jolt went through the kit's stomach, realizing that they had about ten hours to find Robotnik and get the gold emerald back and get Sonic home before Chuck's theater was condemned by the authorities. Tails quickly arose from his bed and tiredly walked to the kitchen, where he found Sonic and his mom casually conversing.

"Oh, good morning sweetheart!.. well, good afternoon, actually."

"Uhh... morning mom..." _"What the hell is up with mom?... She's never this cheery..."_

"Sup Tails!?"

"Hey Sonic..." _"Damn!... Sonic seems a bit unlike himself too..." _"Were you guys up talking **_all _**night?

Rosemary turned to her son.

"Why's it matter? Besides, had I not talked with Sonic here, I never would have found out he was a police officer and that you were helping him with a case."

"Oh... yeah... well... you see-"

"And by the way Miles, I know you were busy helping Sonic and all, but couldn't you at least taken two minutes to give me a call last night and tell me you were OK, rather than mysteriously showing up in the middle of the night?" Rosemary said.

"And Tails, why didn't you ever tell me you had no friends and were always being bullied? And what's with this business of cutting school to go to the movies?" Sonic said.

Tails was nearly knocked over by the disbelief he felt, having just heard everything he'd heard. Looking to his mom, Tails received a look from Rosemary as if she were saying 'Yes, I told him all about you.' The kit slouched down into his chair.

"_Moooooom_... you've turned him into a sissy!" Tails whined.

"Oh relax, Tails! Would you like something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure..." he replied unenthusiastically.

Rosemary began making Tails a PB&J sandwich and other little lunch fixings. While she was doing this, Tails leaned over to Sonic.

"Sonic... are you...OK?" he whispered.

"What do you mean?... We just had a nice long talk... It was fun."

"_Fun?_"

Tails rolled his eyes as he slouched even deeper into his chair. A plate with the sandwich Tails' mother had just made, along with some potato chips and a glass of apple juice, was set down in front of Tails. The fox reluctantly began to eat as his mother seated herself back at the table.

"Me and Sonic are going back out today. I'm helping him... with his case."

"I don't think so, Miles. You've had enough of an adventure for now."

"I **_have_** to! I'm... the only witness to help break the case!"

"I'd appreciate all the help I can get. It's gonna be a tough one, and I'm on a strict schedule to get it done. If you let him come, it'd mean a lot to me. But of course, that's up to you."

Tails looked at his mother, hoping, praying she'd by what Sonic had just said and let him go.

"Oh... alright."

Tails smiled and began sipping his apple juice happily.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Tails, Rosemary."

Tails nearly choked when he heard Sonic say his mother's name. As a reflex action, Tails spit out his mouthful of apple juice onto his plate, ruining the sandwich and chips his mother had just served him.

"Holy shit! How'd you manage to learn my mom's name in one night!? Did you two do it last night or something?" Tails yelled at Sonic.

A force hit the back of Tails' head. Rubbing the sore spot, Tails turned around to see his mom holding her hand in such a way that told him she'd smacked him with the back of her hand.

"I raised you better than to think like that, Miles! And watch you're language!"

Sonic started snickering at Tails. The fox sneered at Sonic and got up from the table.

"I'm gonna get washed off." the fox mumbled.

As Tails headed for the bathroom he could hear Sonic and Rosemary talking to each other. Growling a bit as he turned on the water, Tails hopped into the shower with his mind racing.

_"First my mom tells him my life's story, then she warps his attitude to that of a schoolgirl, and now he's siding with her and acting like a douche bag!..." _Tails thought miserably to himself. _".. I wonder if Sonic really did do it with my mom last night... EWW! Oh my God, I can't even think about it!"_

A few minutes later Tails had finished washing . Not feeling like picking out fresh clothes, he thew on all his clothes from last night. Exiting his room, he found Sonic waiting for him.

"Ready to go, Tails?" he asked.

"Yup! Let's hit the road."

Rosemary entered the room as well.

"Be careful today, Miles."

"I will, mom."

Tails started walking towards the door to leave.

"Take care of him, OK Sonic?"

"No problem."

Just as Tails had walked out the door, he heard a smooch sound behind him. The kitsune froze in his place, wondering if his ears had failed him or not. A moment later he heard Sonic come up behind him and shut the door behind him.

"Come on, _Miles. _It's a nice day! Don't wanna waste it now, do we?"

There was an extra spring in Sonic's step as he walked down the alleyway towards the main street. Tails was convinced he'd heard what he thought he'd heard. He also knew that his mom had succeeded in brainwashing Sonic. This led Tails to only one conclusion.

_"This is gonna be one long-ass day..."_

* * *

Roughly two hours later, Sonic and Tails were out in the city on the search for Robotnik. But they were in the last place Tails ever thought they'd be in. 

"Sonic, do you _honestly_ think you're gonna spot him from up _**here**_?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed Sonic, but we're on the roof of an 80 story building! You'll be lucky enough if you even _see_ him, let alone catch him!"

"You know I always catch everybody, so chill out."

The fox could only roll his eyes, realizing that Sonic still hadn't fully grasped the way the real world was. A subject change was in order, and Tails knew all too well what he wanted to talk about.

"So... what did you and my mom get up to last night?"

Sonic smirked.

"A bit nosy, aren't we?"

"This _is_ my mom we're talking about here. I think I have the right to know."

"I told her that I was a cop and that you were helping me with 'the case' I was working on. Had to work in a few lies to get around why nobody could contact us and where we were, but she bought it."

"And it took you all night to do that?"

"No."

"Then what the hell could you have possibly been doing all night?"

"We just talked about different things. It's been a while since I could just have a nice talk with anybody. It felt good. And your mom enjoyed it too, I think."

"Is that so? What didja talk about?... The weather?... Sports?... Favorite sexual positions?"

Sonic gave Tails a disgusted look.

"Ya know Tails, for some body who's barely a teenager, you sure as hell seem to be interested in sex."

"Look who's talking!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I heard you kiss my mom before we left!"

"So?"

"SO! Dude, you say I'm too young for sex!? My mom could be _your_ mom and you kissed her! I'll bet you two did the horizontal mambo last night with the way you're acting!"

"You can't prove that, ya know."

"See! You answered immediately! You did it, didn't you!"

"And how do you know that for sure?"

"My mom hasn't been that happy since my dad was still alive! You must have really given her something special last night to cheer her up that much!"

"You're assuming. And you know what they say about assuming. It makes an ass out of you and me."

"See, you're talking about ass! Is that what ya did!? Did my mom in the ass!?."

Sonic surprisingly laughed.

"Ya know what's funny, Tails? You're sitting here accusing me of having sex with your mom, when just a little while ago you were in the same place as me."

"Oh will you drop that already!"

"Why should I? You won't drop your mom and I."

"All I did was kiss you're sister!"

"Lying down?"

"Alright, we were French kissing! But I didn't give away my virginity!"

"Can you prove it? After all, my sister likes wearing skirts."

"I don't have t prove it. I know what I did, and I didn't have sex with her."

"All I've got is your word, Tails. You think I'll believe that?"

"You should!"

"So I should have to take your word, but you won't take mine, is that right?"

Tails knew he'd been cornered and had lost this this debate, resulting in him staying silent.

"Looks like I'll never know if you did something with my sister just as much as you'll never know if I did something with you're mom," Sonic said smugly, symbolizing he'd won this argument.

"You're really jerking me off here, Sonic." Tails said as one last jab to get the truth out of him.

"Sorry Tails, I don't jerk other people off. If you want that done, you'll have to do it yourself."

"...Already been there..." Tails said in highly suggestive manner.

Sonic grimmaced while looking away and held up his hands over his face.

"WOAH! Too much info there, Tails!"

"Don't over-react, Sonic. It's natural, you know. I'll bet you've done it too."

Now Sonic decided it was time for a subject change.

"Well, natural or not, virgins or not, we got more important things to worry about here."

"Fine..." Tails whined.

For a while, the duo was silent.

"I just figure out why we haven't found Robotnik, yet," Sonic said.

"It's because we're eighty stories up, Sonic."

"No no, that's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Well... think about it. Last night, Robotnik used that emerald to escape into this world. Then when we had him cornered, he vanished again."

"Point being?"

"The point is... what if Robotnik can use that emerald all the time like you said? What would keep him from going into other movies in other theaters? Or even other movies anywhere?"

"I don't see why he couldn't. But why would he want to do that?"

"... I'm not sure... But it's a start."

"It's certainly better than trying to find him from up here."

"Hey, give me a break lready, will ya Tails? It's the first time I've been anywhere real."

* * *

About six hours later it was dark, raining heavily, and the air was raw and cold. In the middle of all this, Sonic and Tails were walking down a street, their clothes and fur completely drenched. For the quarter of the day that had passed, the two of them had been searching movie theaters, movie stores, and anywhere even remotely related to dealing with movies. But no matter how hard they looked or how much they asked around, they hadn't uncovered a single clue about Robotnik, nor what he was up to. What's worse, it was about two hours to midnight. If they didn't find something fast, then Sonic's chances of getting home were in danger. 

"Sonic, this is getting ridiculous! We've been searching like this all day, and we haven't found anything! And we've got two hours left to find this guy, or you might never get home!"

"Tails, I'm telling you! If we just keep up with this a little longer, we'll get him."

"The only thing we're gonna get is pneumonia from being out in the rain and cold like this!"

"Tails, relax will ya! I told you, nobody gets away from me. You've seen what I can do in my world."

Everything stressful or annoying that Sonic had done finally took it's toll on Tails. The fox let out a roar of frustration.

"DAMMIT, SONIC! YOU JUST DON'T GET IT, DO YOU!? WE'RE NOT IN YOUR WORLD! THOSE KINDS OF THINGS DON"T HAPPEN HERE! YOU'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT A DUMBASS SINCE WE GOT HERE BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WORLD IS NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF SHIT!"

"**TAILS, SHUT THE FUCK UP!**"

Apparently, Tails had pushed one too many of Sonic's buttons, and it was time for Sonic to take unload on Tails.

"Let me tell you something, Prower! The more I'm with you, the more I can't figure you out! You're so young, yet you're one of the most miserable people I've ever met! You're irritable, you don't appreciate anything, and you have messed up values! Rather than being a good student in school and appreciating what you've got, you're skipping school to watch movies and make yourself look bad! Not to mention you've got some nasty habits forming already! You swear too much, you lie, and you're becoming obsessed with sex! If you're making out with girls at this age, what's next!? Are you going to go through three failed marriages and have six kids by the time you're twenty-one!? HUH!? Is that what you want!? Is that what you want to do with your life!? IS IT!?"

"YOU KNOW SOMETHING, SONIC! I DON'T KNOW WHY I EVER LOOKED UP TO YOU! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF SHIT, JUST LIKE THIS WORLD!"

Only after Tails said this did he realize what he'd done. He'd just insulted and attacked one of the only people he'd ever looked up to. Now, his anger and frustration in life had just gone and shot a hole straight through that. Sonic's ears laid down flat against his head and he frowned.

"I see how it is, Tails..."

Turing his back on Tails, the hedgehog began to slowly walk away.

"If that's what's you think and feel, then so be it... I can't change you. If that's how you want to be, then go ahead. I won't stop you. But just so you know, pal, the world is what you make of it. Even my life, fictional though it may be, I've dealt with it and tried to make the best of it... Maybe some day you'll come to view the world and your life better... Until then, good luck making it with your current attitude..."

Tails stood transfixed in his place. The reality of what he'd done was now beginning to set in. He'd just lost the one of the only true friends he had in life. He'd betrayed him. With a heavy heart, the fox's ears flopped down against his head and tears began to well up in his eyes. Watching as Sonic walked away into the cold, rainy night, it felt as if a part of Tails had just been torn out of him. Now, more than ever, Tails wished a miracle would happen. He prayed that something, anything, would happen to help this situation. But in the middle of a wet, crowded, noisy street, Tails couldn't possibly think of anything good that would happen. That was until he glanced over to the left of Sonic. Up the street, a fat man in an unmistakable white tuxedo had just whistled for a cab. The kit's heart rate skyrocketed and adrenaline surged through his veins.

"Sonic! SONIC! THERE HE IS!"

Looking over his shoulder, Sonic saw the kitsune pointing across the street, He didn't even have to guess what he was looking for. Spying the fat man instantly, Sonic ran out into the street and began jumping from car roof to car roof, trying to catch up. Meanwhile, Tails stayed in pursuit along the sidewalk. Just as Sonic was about to reach the cab Robotnik had gotten into, another car Sonic landed on slammed on it's breaks, causing the hedgehog to slide forward and fall from the car and hit the ground hard. From Tails' perspective, he saw Sonic disappear into the traffic and a car skidded to a halt behind Sonic.

"SONIC!"

Tails darted out into the traffic. Just as he reached Sonic, the hedgehog got to his feet with a grunt of pain.

"Tails, come on!"

The duo ran through the traffic and finally caught up with Robotnik's taxi. Sonic drew his Desert Eagle and threw the door open, pointing the gun inside. The taxi driver got our of the car and ran off with fright as Sonic did this. But there was a problem. The back seat was empty.

"DAMMIT!" Sonic roared, punching the roof so hard the water drops on it bounced upward. "WE PICKED THE WRONG CAB!"

"Wait!" Tails said, reaching into the cab.

The fox pulled out a newspaper. On the page that it was open to, several movie ads were circled in red marker. Now it all made sense.

"Sonic, you were right! Robotnik _has_ been going around to different movies!"

Looking up at Sonic, Tails expected to see the hedgehog happy at their breakthrough. Instead, he found Sonic looking wide-eyed at the opposite page. Turing the paper over, Tails saw that it was the front page with a huge ad for the opening of the new movie "Sonic the Hedgehog IV." But Sonic's name had been X'd out in red. More terrifyingly, the picture of Sonic on the front had been covered in red ink to make it look lie he'd been shot multiple times, and his eyes were covered with red X's. Neither Tails nor Sonic had to speak to know what they had to do next. Both of them jumped into the abandoned taxi and sped off to the movie theater that was in the ad at full speed. There was no time to waste.

* * *

A/N - I know that the middle of this chapter got a bit... well, let's say it got into a "sensitive topic." I only did this because I thought it was funny and because it would help build up to Sonic yelling at Tails. So please, let's be mature about it, OK? 

Also, I'd like to at this time that this story is winding down. If my calculations are correct, the last chapter number will be 30. So, I hope everybody who's been with me all this time will hang around until I wrap this one up.

Other than that, not much else to say. See ya next time!

* * *


	28. Déjà Vu

A/N - This chapter has some pretty strong language in it. Just warning you..

Also, from this point on, for those who've seen the movie (or those who plan on seeing it), the story will be much different then how the movie went. I just didn't agree with some of the upcoming parts of the original film, so I made em better.

My fellow readers, we are entering the finale of this story. I plan on working like crazy to hopefully get this done before the New Year so I can start planning and developing other ideas for you to enjoy. Therefore, my work on my other story currently in production might slow up a bit. So, if you haven't already read my latest update from back on the 13th for "Gone in Sixty Milliseconds," now would be a good time to do so. I think it may have slipped by a few of my fellow readers since I posted it a weird time.

OK, enough talking. Here's chapter 28!

* * *

**Chapter 28** - Déjà Vu 

The taxi Sonic and Tails had taken was speeding along the rain-slicked streets of Station Square at red-line speeds, weaving in and out of traffic and nearly colliding with other cars. Finally, the traffic lightened up, allowing Tails to speak.

"There's something I don't get, Sonic. Robotnik has been going to other movies and/or theaters, yet he's centered on the opening of this movie tonight. Why this one?"

"Maybe he was going to get help to take us out, since we're the only thing that's preventing him from using that emerald to cause all kinds of hell."

"But why would Robotnik waste time trying to kill us? He knows that we're expecting that an that we're ready."

"That maybe true. But... what if Eggman isn't after me, but rather, after him!"

Sonic pointed to the front page of the newspaper with his picture on it.

"Oh my God... You're right! Because if Robotnik kills the _**real **_Sonic the Hedgehog... then that would kill you!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT, TAILS!"

Finally, after more high-speed driving, the two arrived at a street that was mobbed with a crowd in front of the largest movie theater in the whole city. There were also numerous news vans and crowds of photographers making the street even more crowded. And to top it all off, there was a huge blow-up of Sonic in the middle of the street that looked the way he did in the movies.

"Too much heat to go through the main entrance, Tails. We better find a back way in."

The duo found a back alleyway where they parked they ditched the taxi. Luckily, there was a side service entrance that was propped open. Entering, Tails and Sonic made their way into the main lobby, which was flooded with people. They both followed the flow of people while trying to keep a low profile. When they reached the entrance to the main theater, Sonic held Tails back.

"Tails, I'm going in. You stay out here and make sure nobody we should worry about gets in. If you see anybody or anything that looks like trouble, call out for help."

"Alright," Tails said reluctantly.

"Be careful!," Sonic shouted, running into the theater.

No sooner had the hedgehog disappeared into the theater, Tails noticed a sign that said "lower balcony" over the door Sonic had just gone through. On the other side of the lobby there was a stair case with a sign and arrow saying "Upper Balcony."

_"Somebody should be watching that upper balcony..." _Tails thought, looking at the staircase._"Definitely!"_

Tails ran to the staircase and began fighting his way up the crowded passageway.

* * *

Inside the theater, Sonic was off to the left side of the room. He could see just about everything around him from where he was standing, and so far, couldn't see anything that looked like trouble. It was at that moment Sonic spotted the last thing he'd thought he'd see. 

"What the?..."

In the center of the theater he saw a group of very familiar faces. It was everybody that had been in the movie he came from. The terrifying thing was that these weren't the movie versions that Sonic knew. They were the real people. Everybody was there, Knuckles, Robotnik, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Silver, Sonia, Big, and every other smaller character that had been in the movie. There was also a green hedgehog that looked a lot like Sonic himself that he didn't know. Perhaps it was a real-world brother. Nothing, however, could prepare Sonic to see what he saw next: A blue hedgehog that looked like him. THE REAL SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. There, sitting amongst both good guys and bad guys alike, at least according to movie Sonic, was his real counterpart. But what was even more strange was that Sonic was talking with his "enemies" in casual conversations. In fact, Sonic was laughing along with Robotnik, Vector, and Espio about something. Even Shadow was smirking about whatever they were talking about. There was also some pink girl hedgehog in a red dress that seemed to be bugging the real Sonic a lot, though movie Sonic had no idea who she was. Perhaps some crazy fan-girl. All movie Sonic could do was stare in amazement. The shock he felt now was ten times what he felt when he'd arrived in this world the previous night.

"This is **_un_**real..." Sonic said quietly to himself.

* * *

Up above, Tails had just reached the upper balcony. Rushing out onto it, his turquoise eyes scanned everyone and everything that he could as fast as he could. But after checking over the area, Tails saw nothing. The fox turned and began to walk away. But just as he was about to walk through the door to go back down, he looked back over his shoulder one more time. The kitsune's eyes shot wide open and his heart spasmed at what he saw.

* * *

Sonic was so transfixed in watching the real-life versions of everybody he was barely conscious of his environment. But a sudden scream made his ears flick. 

"**SOOONIIIC! IT'S SHADOW! ROBOTNIK BROUGHT BACK SHADOW!"**

Every nerve was tingling as Sonic ran further out into the theater, looking for his foe. Looking up at the upper balcony, Sonic spied Shadow in his black trench coat and black chaos emerald, looking down at somebody in the crowd. Peering down quickly, Sonic saw Shadow was looking at the real Sonic. Looking back up, Shadow held back his hand, preparing to launch a chaos spear.

"**EVERYBODY GET DOWN!**" Sonic roared, reaching for his Desert Eagle.

From up above, Shadow looked down and spied Sonic, who now had his Desert Eagle pointed right at the black hedgehog. The ebony being smirked at Sonic, bringing flashes of the past to Sonic's mind. The pain of those memories fueled Sonic to pull the trigger.

**'KUHGOW'**

Just as Sonic pulled the trigger he felt a force push him backwards and start to pull him down, causing Sonic's aim to be thrown off at the last second. Rather than hitting Shadow in the face, the bullet sailed straight through through the hedgehog's left ear. A yelp of pain echoed through the theater as Shadow held his left ear with his free left hand. As Sonic became pinned to the floor, he got a good look at Shadow. His rival sneered at him viciously, then held up his black emerald in his right hand and tele-ported away. Having missed his chance to take down Shadow, anger filled the cerulean hedgehog.

"GET...YOUR...ASS... OFF OF ME!" Sonic yelled, pushing whoever had tackled him off to the side.

"Hey, take it easy pal! You're little stunt just scared this whole theater!"

The being who responded sounded identical to Sonic. Looking over, Sonic found himself face-to-face with the real Sonic the Hedgehog.

"WOW! You look just like me!" the real Sonic said.

"Whatever," movie Sonic said, getting to his feet and heading for the exit of the theater.

"You know something pal," reality Sonic said, catching up with movie Sonic, "I bet I could help you get a part as a stunt double."

"For what?" movie Sonic asked coldly.

"Sonic the Hedgehog V."

Movie Sonic turned and looked a reality Sonic, not believing what he'd just heard.

"Wha...what did you say?"

"You heard me. You're one of the first to know! There is going to be a Sonic 5! And I'd love to have you on the set. Not like I can't handle it on my own, of course. But I figure somebody like you would like to have the chance to act in a movie. It would also allow me to chill some more on the sets, ya know!"

Reality Sonic laughed at his own joke. Inside movie Sonic, white-hot anger surged through him.

"So, what do you think? You gonna take me up on my offer?" reality Sonic asked.

Movie Sonic grabbed his real-world twin by the throat and slammed up against the wall, seething through his teeth and glaring at him in the most anger-filled way he could.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THAT OFFER!** _SHOVE IT UP YOUR FUCKING ASS!_**_"_

Now, movie Sonic got right up reality Sonic's face.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"What...are you... talking about!?" reality Sonic said, trying to breathe.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!," movie Sonic shouted, tightening his grip so that reality Sonic to barely be able to breathe. "ALL YOU'VE DONE IS CAUSED PAIN! KILLING AN INNOCENT KID BY DROPPING HIM OFF A DAMN BUILDING! KILLING PEOPLE ALL OVER THE PLACE! CAUSING FAMILIES EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL PAIN! **AND FOR WHAT? A FUCKING MOVIE!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?**"

"It's... only...make...believe!" Sonic gasped out.

"**BULLSHIT!** YOU CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE ALL THE PAIN YOU'VE CAUSED FROM THESE MOVIES! AND I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS IF THE CHARACTERS ARE MAKE BELIEVE! THEY HAVE FEELINGS! AND WHAT'S MORE, REAL PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD HAVE PROBABLY GONE THROUGH THE SAME FUCKING THINGS! YOU EVER THINK OF THAT!?"

Reality Sonic could no longer breath and was starting to go faint and unresponsive. Movie Sonic just continued gripping the other hedgehog's throat. But the sound of four sets of footsteps came up behind of movie Sonic.

"Let him go!" said a raspy, male voice.

"Now!" said another low, raspy voice.

"I'll kill you if you don't!" said a colder voice.

"I will too!" said a low but not as terrifying voice.

Looking over his shoulder, Sonic found himself looking at the real Robotnik, Vector, Espio, and Shadow. Once again, white-hot anger surged through movie Sonic as he looked at the real-world versions of his worst enemies.

"YOU'RE ALL HEARTLESS BASTARDS!," movie Sonic roared, spinning around while lifting the real Sonic into the air, "**FUCK ALL OF YOU!**" he shrieked, throwing his blue counterpart at the four beings across from him.

The force sent the real Sonic and the other fourbeings backwards as they caught reality Sonic, resulting in a gaping hole in the wall.

"Burn in Hell... Sonic the Fuckhog!" movie Sonic said coldly, running from the scene.

* * *

Up above on the upper balcony, Tails had overheard all the yelling. He desperately wanted to get down to the ground floor to see what had happened, but the theater was in chaos with what had just happened. Therefore, Tails went back to the staircase. Luckily for the fox, the steps wound up the wall in a spiral, leaving the center a straight drop to the bottom floor. 

"This should be fun," Tails said to himself.

The kitsune jumped over th side of the stairs and began falling to the bottom floor. People gasped in horror as Tails fell by them, but Tails knew what he was doing. Just before the kit got to the bottom, he spun his dual appendages, slowing him down and allowing him to land gracefully at the bottom. Pandemonium filled the lobby as people ran in every direct. Suddenly through a break in the crowd, Tails spotted Sonic, who was motioning for him to come over, and quickly. Catching up with Sonic, the two began running through hallways leading to th back door they'd used to get in.

"I thought I told you to stay still, Tails!"

"Well I found Shadow, didn't I!?"

"Heheheh! True!"

"What the hell was going on down here anyway? I heard somebody yelling and cursing like a maniac."

"I was setting the real Sonic's ass straight, that's all. And taking out a bit of stress."

Tails could not believe it.

"You mean... that was you saying all that?"

"Yup!"

"AWESOME! I guess the movie ratings don't apply in this world, since you just said f-"

"I know what I said! Now come on! We need to get out of here fast! They're gonna be looking for us after everything that just happened!"

The two finally came bursting through the rear door of the theater, right back to the taxi cab from earlier. They both got in as a heavy rain pounded down from the sky.

"O.K. Tails. The real Sonic is safe. Now, we need to find Shadow. Any ideas where he might be?"

"Well, he tele-ported away, so he could be anywhere. But he's probably still pretty close. Maybe we should check up on the-"

Tails' sentence was cut short by a flash of light in the car, followed by an arm reaching from the backseat and choking the fox. Looking back, Sonic looked right into the face of Shadow.

"I'll be waiting for you, Sonic," the black hedgehog said coldly.

With another flash, Shadow disappeared. This time, however, he used his powers to tele-port both himself and Tails away. Angry and scared at the same time, Sonic got back out of the cab and looked around frantically, calling Tails' name. Realizing that nobody was answering, Sonic tried to figure out what Tails was about to say where to look.

_"What was Tails going to say!?... And what did Shadow mean he'd be waiting!?... Where could he have taken Tails!?... Wait... Oh no... Oh God **no**..."_

Looking up into the sky as rain pelted his face, Sonic looked at the top of the theater. With a flash of lightning, the silhouette of a hedgehog on the roof to the theater was visible for a split second.

_"The roof... Just like the night when my son..."_

Sonic noticed a set of fire-escape stairs leading up the side of the building. Climbing up the stairs it felt like the top was continually running away from Sonic. All he could think about was saving Tails, as well as the fact that this was far too similar to the night his son had been killed.

_"I'm coming, Tails... I'm coming!"_

* * *

Finally, the last staircase had been climbed and Sonic was on the roof. Drawing his gun, Sonic spotted Shadow across the roof with his back to the blue hedgehog. 

"Sonic... what kept you?"

Shadow turned around, revealing Tails. The fox's head was held tightly in Shadow's left hand while Shadow clutched his black emerald in his other hand. Looking at Shadow, the dark being only smirked that smirk Sonic hated. Somehow, Shadow seemed to be ignoring the hole in his ear that was still bleeding, though it was hard to see the blood against Shadow's dark, rain-drenched fur in the night. Calmly shifting his gaze from Shadow to Tails, the fox appeared to be terrified, maybe even on the verge of tears.

"Are you alright, Tails?"

The fennec's only response was to shift his dual tails aside, revealing that they were bound together by a leather belt, undoubtedly the one Shadow had been wearing, to keep Tails from flying. That meant Tails was next to helpless, as his primary method of attack was gone. Shadow could tell Sonic was troubled by this discovery and laughed.

"What's the matter, Sonic? Feeling a bit sorry for your little friend, here?"

Sonic wanted to stall Shadow from doing anything.

"I see you've been tricked into working with Robotnik. What kind of lies did he feed you to make you work for him?"

"Ya know something, Sonic... I really tried to take orders from Robotnik and do things outside of my own style. But it just didn't feel right. I got tired of waiting around for a stealthy attack. That's why I went into that theater and tried to kill the other Sonic. When I did that, everything felt right. That's why when I grabbed this little twerp here, I knew you'd come after me and find me up here. Just like old times, huh Sonic?... Now lose your gun."

Sonic looked at his trusty Desert Eagle for a moment, knowing it wasn't going to help this current situation. He threw it over his shoulder and it bounced nosily down the fire escape steps, landing somewhere down below on one of the landings.

"There. I'm unarmed. Now let Tails go, Shadow. This is between you and me."

Shadow went to say something, but he stopped himself short.

"Wow... talk about déjà vu. Haven't we gone through this before, Sonic?"... Let's see... You threw you're gun away, right... then we talked for a bit, yeah... Then you told me to let the kid go... Oh... that's right... then _this_ happened!"

Without warning, Shadow lifted Tails up by the collar of his jacket with one hand and hurled the fox over the side of the building. The kitsune shrieked in terror as he disappeared from view over the side of the building. The scream was then drowned out by a deafeningly loud blast of thunder as a blast of lightning lit up the sky. In the light from the storm, Sonic could see Shadow smiling the exact same smile he did on the night he killed his son. With a swiping motion of his hand, Shadow hurled a chaos spear directly at Sonic. A split-second before the spear hit him, Sonic held up his hand. Somehow, he deflected the spear with his hand and it blasted away a smokestack on the roof. Sonic stood with his head looking down, growling and shaking with rage.

"What the!?," Shadow said in amazement. "How the hell did you do that!?"

Suddenly, Sonic began to laugh in a slightly insane way, shaking even more than before. Then, his whole body turned dark blue and an aura of the same color formed around his body. Still laughing, Sonic looked up at Shadow, revealing that his eyes were now glazed over with a bright white light. For perhaps the first time ever in his life, Shadow actually felt intimidated. But the black hedgehog buried his feelings and got into a fighting stance.

"Come and get me, Sonic!"

Shadow started firing multiple chaos spears at Sonic, who managed to dodge just about all of them. The few he didn't dodge he blocked with his hand effortlessly. Realizing this wasn't going to be so easy, Shadow then tried charging Sonic with kick and punch attacks, all of which were met with the same amount of success as the chaos spears.

"Damn you, Sonic! Why won't you just die!" Shadow roared in frustration.

Sonic's only response was more insane laughter, followed by a spin attack that sent Shadow flying across the roof. Dazed by the force of the hit, Shadow didn't get up right away. A pair of red and white sneakers walked up in front of Shadow. He looked up into the soulless white eyes of this mysterious dark form Sonic was in. Sonic then picked Shadow up by his throat, their eyes locking for a moment. Sonic delivered a hay-maker punch to Shadow's face then, with an unheard of speed, used both of his fists and began punch Shadow in the face so fast his fists looked like a blur. All Shadow could do was stand there, grunting with the increasing amount of pain he felt as he was being beaten to death. The whole time, Sonic laughed with the joy of the slaughter and pain he was causing. Finally, after a full minute of super-sonic speed punching, Sonic delivered a final upper-cut punch to Shadow's chin, sending the hedgehog up into the air and slamming back down onto the roof.

"Now you know how much pain I've felt since you killed my son!" Sonic said in a freakishly high, cold, shaky, shrill voice.

Shadow, beaten, bruised, bloody, and swollen, was actually scared this time. This strange release of power was unlike anything he'd ever seen come from Sonic. And the fact that he now lay in a pool of water and blood drilled home the fact that Sonic had pretty much defeated him. Somehow, despite the beating, Shadow held onto his black emerald. Raising his quivering right hand, Shadow tried to tele-port away, but Sonic was too quick, and he slammed Shadow's hand to the ground with his foot. Sonic stole the emerald from Shadow and held it up himself.

"You killed my son... you've killed Tails... and you tried to kill me... Now... I'm gonna kill you!" Sonic said in that other-worldly voice.

All Shadow could do was snarl and bare his teeth defyingly at the one who was about to murder him. Sonic held back his hand in the same way Shadow did when he was about to release a chaos spear. A devilish smile crossed Sonic's lips as he prepared to finish of Shadow once and for all.

"SOOOOOONIIIIIIC!"

Sonic froze in his place. His ears flicked at the small sound he'd just heard. But he wasn't sure if he was just hearing things.

"T...Tails?" Sonic said quietly out loud to himself, his voice starting to return to normal.

"SOOONIIIC! HEEELP!"

A wave of emotions rushed through Sonic. So much so, he fell to his knees. As he tried to get back up, Sonic caught a glimpse of himself in an illuminated puddle on the roof. He was terrified to see himself in the form he was in. However, even as he looked at himself, it seemed to be disappearing, and within a few seconds, his eyes and fur returned to normal, the aura vanished, and the feeling of white-hot anger melted away. Now recovered, Sonic got back to his feet while putting the black emerald in his pocket. Leaving the barely-living Shadow behind, the blue hedgehog rushed over to the side of the building Tails had been thrown over.

"TAILS! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Another flash of lightning lit up everything around. In that brief moment, Sonic spotted the young kitsune. By some miracle, Tails had managed to grab a flagpole that stuck out horizontally from the building only a few feet down. In the brief moment the alley was lit up, Sonic made eye contact with his endangered friend. Tails' eyes were wide with the fear of falling to his death.

"SONIC!"

"TAILS, I"M COMING! JUST HOLD ON!"

The fact of the matter is that Sonic had no idea how he was going to get down to Tails. But before he could even think about that, Sonic heard a scream come from behind him. Shadow had managed to use his hover-shoes to blast through the air and tackle Sonic. Both hedgehogs tumbled over the building and were falling right at Tails. Sonic managed to grab onto the slick flagpole with both hands. Shadow also managed to grab onto the pole, but he was so weak from the beating Sonic had given him, his grip gave within seconds. The black hedgehog therefore reached out and grabbed onto Tails' legs as he fell. The weight of Shadow holding onto him was too much for Tails and he too fell from the pole, screaming out in terror. But sonic reached out with his right hand, which the fox grabbed onto for dear life with both hands.

"TAILS! HANG ON! I GOT YOU!"

No sooner had Sonic said that when he felt Tails slipping from his grasp. Sonic clenched his fist as hard as he could, but he still felt Tails sliding free. Not only that, but Sonic was losing his grip on the wet flagpole as well. Looking down at Tails, the fox was straining to hold his, his face full of fear. Then, looking down at Shadow, a shiver went down Sonic's spine as he looked into the black hedgehog's red eyes. Shadow was smiling the same way he did when he and Sonic were last in this predicament. This time, looking at Shadow's face was even more horrifying due to all the cuts, bruises, blood, and other marks on him.

"You're coming with me! BOTH OF YOU!" Shadow informed them, his voice like that of a blood-thirsty murderer.

Sonic's mind was racing at a pace faster than his feet ever could. Between trying to hold onto Tails, block Shadow out of his mind, and figure out what to do, the hero's mind was jammed, incapable of making a decision. By now, Tails barely had a hold on Sonic anymore, and Sonic shouted out the only thing he could think to say.

"TAILS! DO SOMETHING!" Sonic screamed, no daring to lose Tails the same way he lost his son.

Sonic's plea for help re-fired Tails' razor-sharp mind. He knew how the movies went, and he knew that he could do something that Sonic's son never could. The fox began stretching his tails apart as hard as he could. The stress was too much for the belt binding his tails together to take, and with a snap, the belt broke off, freeing his tails.

"TAKE THIS!" Tails shouted. swiping his tails into Shadow's body.

Three things happened at the same time. Shadow was swatted away from Tails, Tails lost his grip on Sonic, and Sonic's hand slipped from the pole. All three began plummeting from the ground. In mid air, Sonic grabbed Tails, who was screaming at the top of his lungs, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the black emerald. Moments before impact, Shadow and Sonic made eye contact. Shadow's red eyes contained all the fury and hatred of hell, realizing what was about to happen.

"HOLD ON!" Sonic shouted to Tails. _"Please God let this work!" _he thought._  
_

A flash of lightning lit up the skies, and thunder rattled all of Station Square. So much so, it drowned out the sounds of screams being silenced, concrete being smashed, bones breaking, and living flesh being splattered across the ground.


	29. No Sequel for You

**A/N** - Sorry for my tardiness in updating. I had a busy holiday season which was followed by me having all four of my wisdom teeth removed a few days ago. So, needless to say, I've been quite busy recovering from the past week, but I've been doing my best to keep up with my updates.

Also, I happy to report have now reposted "Gone in Sixty Milliseconds." Though a lot of it may seem the same at first, I **_highly_** suggest you read it through, as the changes will be obvious and will add up quickly. So, for anybody who might have had the story in your favorites or alert lists, now would be a good time to put it back in there. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Once again, sorry for the long wait, but here's chapter 29!

* * *

**Chapter 29** - No Sequel for You 

With two thuds, Sonic and Tails came to rest.

"Tails... you alright?"

The fox was curled up into a tight ball with his tails wrapped around him, as if bracing for an impact. Slowly, he relaxed his tails and opened his eyes.

"What the?..."

To Tails' surprise, they weren't lying at the bottom of the alleyway they'd fallen into. Instead, they were lying back up on the roof that Sonic and Shadow had fallen off of. Looking over at Sonic, he noticed something in the hedgehog's hand.

"Isn't that... Shadow's emerald?"

"Yeah..."

"How'd you get that from him?"

Sonic sat up, looking down at the black gem.

"Tails... I don't know what happened... but I don't feel safe being around this thing anymore..."

"Why not?"

"After I saw you go over the side... I..."

"What?..."

"I lost control..."

"Well, I don't blame ya. I'd have been angry too."

"You don't understand. Something happened to me... I... transformed..."

That's when Tails perked up.

"Transformed?"

"I turned dark blue... my eyes glazed over... and it was like I could feel nothing but hate... I don't know why or how it happened... Like I said... I just lost control..."

"Maybe it had something to do with the powers from that emerald. You must have had such strong emotions that you absorbed it's power without touching it."

"...You might be right."

"I'll bet it scared the hell out of Shadow when he saw you like that, huh?

"Shadow..." Sonic said getting up and walking to the side of the building, with Tails in pursuit.

Looking over the side, both of them spotted Shadow down below. His mangled body was laying motionless in a pool of blood and rainwater. In the brief flashes of lightning, Sonic and Tails could also see that some of Shadow's entrails had been spilled out off his body by the impact. There were even teeth scattered about and broken bones were sticking out of the black hedgehog's body. The scene was truly grotesque, even for Tails, who had seen some of the most intense scenes in movies before. Tails started to gag a bit and turned away from the scene. Sonic, however looked down through squinted eyes at his long-hated and now defeated foe.

"Sayonara... Shadow the Hedgehog..." Sonic said coldly.

Tails looked up at his blue hero, thinking that this victory probably brought the closure and peace of mind he'd wanted ever since his son had been killed in the movies. This was not the case. Sonic's shoulders slouched and he flopped to the ground, his back against the wall on the edge of the building, stuffing the black emerald into his pocket as he did so.

"What's wrong, Sonic?..."

"... I didn't want that to happen to Shadow."

"WHAT!?"

"Just listen. I may have hated Shadow more than anything, but that didn't give me the reason to attack him like I did and I shouldn't have let him die like that... Robotnik was right... all I've been doing is focusing on killing Shadow, not bringing justice to those who deserve it."

"How the hell can you say that!?"

"Tails, all I've ever thought about was killing Shadow for what he did to my son. And now that I have, I realize it's not what I wanted. I wanted justice for my son... not revenge... But seeing you go over the side of the building... just made me want revenge even more... It's like Robotnik said... I've just been using you to find ways of pleasing my need for revenge and killing."

A sudden sharp pain overcame Sonic's right cheek. Rubbing his sore face, Sonic saw Tails clenching his right hand in a fist.

"The hell was that for!?"

"You know damn well what it was for! Don't ever say that again!"

"Say what?"

"THAT YOU'RE AGREEING WITH ROBUTTNIK! That guy is more full of shit than a cow farm! He only said those things to piss you off even more and make you feel guilty if you ever did kill Shadow!"

"Tails, I should never have-"

"Don't interrupt me! Shadow got what he deserved! That was the only way justice _could _have been reached with him! You did nothing wrong! _Nothing_!"

Sonic looked away from his fox friend for a few moments, considering what had just been said. Looking back up, Sonic had perhaps the most friendly looks in his eyes as ever Tails had seen.

"You're really a pretty smart kid, Tails... You're right... Sorry for acting like a wimp there."

"Hey, it's cool. I just couldn't let you keep acting like a dumbass."

Despite both of them soaking wet, Sonic ruffled Tails' hair on his head, much like a brother would do. This earned a smile from the young fox, which Sonic gladly returned.

"Well, I don't know about you Tails, but I'm getting tired of this damn rain pouring down on me and making my clothes stick to my fur."

"Yeah, let's get out of here and go find Robotn-"

A lightning bolt struck an antenna on another roof top about a block away, the resulting sound resonating and echoing throughout the city. Tails ducked down, covering his head with his hands and whimpering.

"Damn, did Satan just arrive or something?" Sonic said, having jumped a bit himself.

Hearing Tails whimpering, Sonic chuckled at seeing Tails.

"What's the matter, Tails? Not a fan of thunderstorms?"

"N-N-NO!" Tails stuttered.

"Awwwwwww, did the little fox boy wet his pants?"

Any fear that Tails might have still felt from the lightning and any guilt Sonic might have still felt from killing Shadow vaporized instantly. They both glanced into each other's eyes, knowing full well who'd just said that. Looking over, they both spied the silhouette of an incredibly obese man holding an umbrella. Though they couldn't make out his face, the way the outline of his face contorted old them he had a broad smile on his face.

"Good evening gentlemen... How nice it is...," Robotnik continued, taking something out from the inside of his white tuxedo jacket, "to see you one last time."

Without another word, Robotnik pulled the hammer of the gun back. Tails and Sonic found themselves at the receiving end of Robotnik's .500 revolver.

"TAILS! RUN!"

Sonic and Tails bolted for an air conditioning unit a few feet to the right of them. Behind them, Robotnik pulled the trigger of his gun twice. Tails had already made it safely behind the unit, but Sonic was in the process of ducking behind it. The second shot grazed the shoulder of Sonic's jacket, fraying the material. Landing next to Tails, the hedgehog checked where the bullet hit, but luckily found that only the jacket had been hit.

"Give it up, Eggman! You're finished! Shadow is dead, and there's probably more cops than you can even count swarming around this building from everything that's happened!"

"Is that so?"

Though they couldn't see him, the duo heard Robotnik walk to the side of the building overlooking the alley below. Outside of Sonic's vision, Tails peaked around the air conditioner unit. Eggman was looking down into the alley, surely spotting what remained of Shadow at the bottom.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Eggman, you had a pretty good plan! Bring back Shadow, send him to kill the real Sonic, which would in turn kill me! Just too bad this world went to Shadow's head and he got all confused in his own intentions! Guess that's what ya get when you ask a psycho to work for you! They screw everything up!" Sonic shouted so Eggman could hear.

Over the pounding of the rain, Sonic could hear Robotnik laugh.

"Sonic... you do realize that you're assuming that's what my plan was, right?"

"Assuming? What the hell are you talking about!? We saw that newspaper in the cab you were in. We know everything."

"You know **_nothing_**."

Tails and Sonic looked to each other in silence, wondering if Eggman was bluffing or not.

"I'm sure right now you are both wondering what my true intentions are. Since you re not going to make it off this roof alive, I'll be more than glad to tell you about it. And it all has to do with this!"

Robotnik took the gold emerald out of his pocket. It was currently glowing gold and had the blue electric sparks coming off it, like it always had. Out of curiosity, Tails peaked around the edge of the air conditioning unit. When he spotted the coveted emerald in Robotnik's hand, he accidentally let a small gasp of amazement escape his mouth. This caught Robotnik's attention, and he pointed his gun at the fox. Sonic pulled Tails away just in time as the bullet whizzed past and embedded itself into the concrete wall behind them.

"Stay down, stupid!" Sonic whispered harshly.

"Seems fox boy is rather excited to see this emerald again. Surely he knows what it can do. And now that _I _know what it can do, I plan to take full advantage of it! And do you know how I plan to do that?"

"Don't keep us in suspense, asshole," Sonic replied.

"HAHAHA! Sonic, think of all the villains you've faced in the movies of the past. There's Shadow, of course. But think back before that. Do you remember Metal Sonic? Perfect Chaos? Mephiles, Iblis,and Solaris? Any of these ring a bell?"

"How could I forget? I've beaten all of them, which now includes Shadow."

"Would you like the opportunity to fight them again..._ in this world_?"

All Sonic and Tails could do was look at each other, realizing just what kind of plan Robotnik had.

"That's right, Sonic. I'm going to bring back all of you're worst enemies into this world. And once this world is conquered and under my control, I'll take them to another world and do the same thing. And once that world is done, I'll move on once again, and again, and again, until I've conquered all there is to conquer!"

"I got a better idea for what you can do, Robotnik!" sonic said.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Go on Jenny Craig!" Sonic said with a snicker.

Robotnik's only response was to fire a shot into the air conditioner. The shot went straight through the metal and out the other side, missing both of the hiding individuals by inches.

"I'm really growing tired of your attitude, Sonic. But it doesn't matter. Thanks to Shadow, he's brought both of you right to me."

"So _that's_ why you brought him back! You didn't care about the real Sonic, you wanted to trick us!" Tails said.

"Precisely, fox boy. And you both fell for it so easily it's almost hilarious. And now Sonic, fox boy, I wish you farewell. It's been fun trying to deal with you ruining my plans every step of the way, but all that's doesn't matter."

Robotnik brazenly walked around the air conditioner to face Sonic and Tails. The hedgehog shielded Tails by pushing him around the corner of the unit while standing and facing his foe.

"So long, Sonic. I shall truly miss you," Robotnik said in a sarcastically emotional way.

"Don't miss," Sonic said, staring Robotnik in the eye.

"I won't."

Robotnik pointed the gun right at Sonic's head and pulled the trigger.

**'CLICK'**

No muzzle flash, no gunshot, no nothing. Robotnik looked at his gun in extreme confusion. Sonic and Tails also exchanged looks, first of relief, then of amusement.With a smug smile on his face, Tails got up from his hiding place and stood, crossed-armed, in front of Sonic, looking at Eggman.

"Gee... not so smart now, are we? You made a classic movie mistake! You got so caught up in your monologue, your forgot to make sure your gun was still loaded!" Tails taunted.

The fox and hedgehog laughed, but to their surprise, so did Robotnik.

"Actually, fox boy... _you _made a mistake."

Robotnik pointed the revolver right at Tails' head. He and Sonic fell silent, wondering just what they could have forgotten.

"Apparently, fox boy, you must not be doing well in math classes. I've pulled this trigger _five_ times. This is a _six_-shooter. I just left that chamber empty to trick you."

Time stood still as Tails looked down the barrel of the gun that was mere seconds away from ending his life. Unconsciously, he backed up in fear, his head bumping into Sonic's chest. At that instant, Tails felt two hands shove him to the side.

**'KAPOW'**

Tails wasn't even a foot away from Sonic when the shot rang out. As he fell to the ground, the fox watched in slow motion as a burst of blood erupted from Sonic's chest and then out of his back as the bullet passed straight threw his body. With a grimace of fatal pain, Sonic's body fell backwards and down to the ground, landing on his back. The moment he hit the ground, the hedgehog coughed out a mouthful of blood.

"DAMN YOU SONIC! I could have gotten both of you with one shot!" Robotnik angrily said out loud.

Tails stared breathlessly at Sonic. The hedgehog was motionless as blood poured out of both his wounds and his mouth. Instantly, white hot rage unlike anything Tails had ever felt surged through his veins as only one thing went through his mind.

"**MOTHER FUCKER! _I'LL KILL YOU!_**" the fox shrieked.

At a speed quicker than Robotnik could react, Tails propelled himself up into the air and charged at Sonic's murderer. Tails brought Eggman to the ground by using his dual tails as a noose and started to choke the air out of the fat man as hard as he could. Robotnik writhed and squirmed in desperation as his face started to change colors and his eyes became bloodshot. With only seconds of life left in him, Robotnik managed to grab and swing the handle of his revolver into the back of Tails' head, stunning the fox. As the kitsune lay stunned on the ground, Robotnik wheezed and coughed as his lungs refilled with air. Slowly, Tails started to regain his senses. He watched as Robotnik, now soaking wet from having dropped his umbrella, loaded two shots into his revolver. The math was simple: a shot for him, and a shot for Sonic, to make sure both were truly dead. Tails was still far from being able to get away, as his vision was still spinning about him and his head ached terribly. All he could do was watch as the barrel of Robotnik's revolver pressed forcefully up against his head and the maniac who held it pulled back the hammer.

"Time to die... fox boy."

Tails shut his eyes, waiting for the shot that would end his life.

"Leave...him... alone!..."

Neither Robotnik nor Tails could believe what they'd just heard. But sure enough, as Robotnik looked over his shoulder and Tails opened his eyes, Sonic had lifted his head ever-so-slightly and had spoken in a pain-filled, dying voice. With a sign of exasperation, Robotnik left Tails alone for the moment and walked to Sonic's feet. The hedgehog's breathing was shallow and his eyes were opened just wide enough for them to be slits. Eggman chucked at the sight before him.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you Sonic? But look at you now. You may still somehow be alive now, but surely, you are going to die from your wound. But I'm not going to give you _or_ fox boy the pleasure of waiting for your deaths."

"His name.. is... Tails... you... fat...ugly... cock-sucking... bastard!" Sonic seethed, blood still shooting out of his mouth and teeth.

Robotnik was un-phased by the dying hedgehog's remarks. He calmly pointed his gun at Sonic's forehead, aiming to finish this once and for all.

"Go to hell, Sonic."

Robotnik pulled the trigger. But unseen by him, Tails had managed to get to his feet and had flew through to perform a mid-air tail-whip attack. The moment the fox's tails hit Robotnik, the gun discharged the bullet, throwing it's aim of just enough that with passed within millimeters of Sonic's head. Stunned, Robotnik dropped his gun and lost his footing. Just as Robotnik regained his footing, Tails swooped in and wrapped both hands around Robotnik's throat.

"**YOU FIRST!**" Tails yelled in response to Robotnik's previous remark to Sonic.

Robotnik grabbed both of Tails' tails and threw him to the ground, but the fox tripped the fat man and he too fell to the ground. Wasting no time, the fox pinned Robotnik to the ground with his tails and began delivering punch after punch to the enemy's face. Robotnik managed to push Tails away from him and landed an incredibly powerful punch to the fox's gut. As Tails gagged from the punch, Robotnik summoned his knife on his wrist clamp he'd used back at Sonia's house. With a swiping motion, he aimed to cut the fox's throat, but Tails dodged it. Robotnik then made a leap at Tails with the knife, but the kitsune side-stepped and he missed. A swift kick to Robotnik's face broke his glasses off, revealing a startling discovery. Robotnik's glass eye was bright red, identical to the explosive one he'd seen back at Sonia's house in the movie. In the split-second pause Tails made to examine the red eye, Robotnik grabbed Tails by the throat in his left hand and rushed the fox over to the edge of the building, pinning him precariously on the edge of the wall right next to the fire escape. In a flash of lightning, Tails saw the knife coming down in Robotnik's right hand. At the last second, Tails threw up his hands and caught Robontik's wrist. With all his might, Tails tried to hold back the knife that was shaking towards him, but Robotnik was simply to strong for him. With the blade about an inch from his throat, Tails let go of his strength and let Robotnik's hand fly past him, dodging the falling knife. Still holding onto the mad-man's wrist, Tails sank his razor-sharp fangs into Eggman's right wrist.

"AHHHHHH!" Robotnik howled, throwing his arm about with Tails still attached.

Robotnik delivered another punch to Tails' back, causing the fox to let go. As blood dripped from Eggman's wrist, he tried to drive the blade into Tails chest by running forward. Tails dodged the knife and this time sunk his teeth right into Eggman's face. The pain was so intense that Robotnik dropped the knife over the side of the building and used both of his hands to try and pry Tails off of him. The fox was growing ferociously as he bit harder and deeper all over Eggman's head as blood poured out of the wounds. With a final shriek of immeasurable pain, Robotnik tore Tails from his flesh and threw him down the fire escape stairs. As the fox dropped down the metal steps, Eggman held his face, trying to stop the fiery pain and to stop the blood flow.

"EGGMAN!"

Through his blood-stained eyes, he could see that Sonic had grabbed his dropped revolver. With the last shot in the gun, Sonic pulled the trigger and landed the bullet in Eggman's chest. Robotnik fell to his knees, holding his wounded face with his right hand and his chest with his left. Any second, Sonic expected Robotnik to fall dead onto th ground. Instead, Robotnik actually managed to let a laugh escape.

"You... shoulda shot me... in the head!..."Robotnik said in a shaky, pain-filled, yet somehow affirmative voice.

Getting to his feet but keeping his face covered, Robontik walked over closer to Sonic. With is left hand, Robotnik lifted up his now blood-stained white tuxedo.

"Bullet-proof vest, Sonic! I learned from our little run-in at your house that I needed to better protect myself. Unfortunately, it seems you didn't learn, as you're now lying there dying!"

Robotnik uncovered his face, revealing the extent of the damage Tails had caused. Robotnik's face was hardly recognizable. His nose was missing a chunk of flesh, his cheeks he torn to shreds, his lips were punctured, both ears were sliced apart, his head had teeth marks in it, his forehead was bleeding, and it appeared that part of the eye socket that held Robotnik's glass eye had been damaged, as the red eye he had now seemed to be more visible than usual.

"Nice... face..." Sonic said, mustering a shaky smile.

Robotnik only sneered at his refusing-to-die opponent. Somehow, the wounds on his face made Eggman seem even more intimidating than usual.

"Enough is enough, Sonic. I'm not fooling around anymore I'm going to blow you off the face of this Earth."

Pulling away the remaining tissue around his glass eye with his left hand, Robotnik positioned his right hand behind his head to pop the glass eye out.

"There's no way you'll survive this. So, for one last time, good-," Robotnik said in a devilish tone.

**'CLICK'**

The noise caught both Eggman's and Sonic's attention.Sonic peered to the side of Robotnik as the fat man looked over his shoulder, still holding his hands like he had a second ago to get his eye out. Tails was standing at the top of the fire-escape stairs, holding something large and heavy in his hands.

"No sequel for you..." Tails said coldly.

The click was Tails tumbing back the hammer on Sonic's Desert Eagle he'd found on the steps. The fox pointed it right at Robotnik's exposed explosive left eye. Behind Robotnik, Sonic rolled over and covered his head with his hands.

**'KUHGOW'**

The massive recoil of the gun knocked Tails off his feet and back down the steps, but his aim was true.

**'KABAAAANG'**

The top half of Robotnik's body disappeared in a fireball as the roof was engulfed in red-orange light and the sound of the explosion drowned out the storm and echoed through the city. Down on the steps, Tails watched as flaming pieces of debris, surely pieces of Robotnik's body, flew over the side of the building. Tails made his way back up the stairs, exhausted from the battle. Reaching the top of the stairs, Tails looked over just in time to see a cloud of smoke where Robotnik used to be dissipate, along with both of his legs, which were now charred at the top, fall to either side.

"T...Tails..."

Sonic's voice caught the fox by surprise. He rushed over to his injured friend. He found that Sonic's clothes had been singed by the explosion and that Sonic had been further wounded by some sort of shrapnel that had come from the blast. It was clear that Sonic was barely clinging to life. Dropping the Desert Eagle by it's owner, Tails fell to his knees. his eyes filling with tears.

"Sonic..."

"We got him... Everything is cool... We won..."

"No... not yet! I have to get you home! We're gonna use that emerald to get you home!"

Tails rushed over to were Robotnik's remains were, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find the emerald.

"Tails... I got it..."

The fox raced back over to Sonic, expecting to see the glowing gold emerald in the hedgehog's hands. Instead, he found sonic picking something out of his jacket. A small shard of gold gemstone came out of the material and into his blood-soaked glove. He then held his hand out to Tails, who picked up the tiny shard and looked at it in disbelief. It was still glowing and sparking, but it seemed much weaker, and growing even more so by the second.

"Looks like... that blast... blew the emerald to hell..." Sonic said weakly.

Tails watched as the last bit of power faded from the shard, then it simply turned a murky brown and it disintegrated into dust. The gold emerald, the passport to another world, Sonic's ticket home, was gone. It had been blown to bits and scattered across who knows where. The most over-whelming sense of grief over-came Tails as feel to his knees beside Sonic.

"Sonic... I'm so... sorry... It's all my fault..." the fox said in a quivering voice, tears flowing out of his eyes.

"Relax, Tails... you did what ya had to... Just like I did with Shadow..."

Sobbing and crying heavily, Tails did his best to look at his barely-living hero.

"Sonic... please... Don't die... Please, don't-"

Tails was cut off by the hedgehog placing his hand on Tails' shoulder.

"It's alight, Tails... I'm not angry... I'm not... angry... anymore..."

Sonic slumped to the ground, his body weak. With all his effort, Sonic looked up into the fox's eyes, putting on his signature smirk..

"Ya did good, Tails... ya did good..."

At that moment, rain poured forth from the heavens stronger than ever, almost as if the heaven's knew at that moment the life of a great hero was soon to leave this world forever.


	30. Saying Goodbye

**A/N** - There are officially three chapters left, including this one, for a total of 32. This is a heads up to tell you that they might be a bit shorter than what you're used to. This is because this chapter would have been too long if left as a whole, but being the O.C.D. that I am, I didn't want to end on an uneven number of chapters. Therefore, I've divided it up the way I currently have.

A big thanks goes out to my most loyal fans. We've all come a long way, and I'm glad you've stayed with me this long.

OK, enough talk, here's chapter 30!

* * *

**Chapter 30** – Saying Goodbye 

"Sonic... you can't die like this!," Tails whimpered, grasping the dying hedgehog's coat.

"Tails... it's alright... You're OK, and that's all that matters..."

"No it's not! You can't die!"

"Yes... I can... I've done what I have to... We got the bad guy... We've won... It's over... The movie's fulfilled..."

"NO! We're not done yet! You're meant to die here like this!"

"Just get out of here Tails... Nothing can save me now... You know it... and **_I_** know it..."

All Tails could do was sink to his knees and whimper into his hands, not wanting to admit the truth.

"I'm not leaving you..." Tails cried through his hands.

"...Dammit you're stubborn Tails... Did you forget?... This is the real world... I _can_ die here... remember?"

Tails froze in his place. Sonic was right. In this world, Sonic really could die. And with a bullet hole that went straight through him, there was no way anybody or anything could help him now. Suddenly, the fox's whole body flinched, as if in shock. Looking up, Tails' eyes were the widest Sonic had ever seen.

"Sonic... that's... that's it... _that's it_... **THAT'S FREAKING IT!**" Tails yelled, his hands quivering with energy.

"What?"

"You're right! You _can_ die here, in _this_ world!"

"And all of a sudden this is a good thing?"

"All I have to do is get you back to were everything defies logic! To where everything is possible! To where even fatal wounds are survivable!"

"Tails... what the hell are you talking about?... Utopia?"

"_**THE MOVIES!**_"

Despite his weakness, Sonic's eyes opened up. He knew the fox was right. But he also knew there were some problems.

"OK Tails... how we gettin' there?"

"We'll take the cab we took earlier!"

"Too much heat, Tails... Besides... I can't drive... How much time do we even have?"

Tails glanced at his watch.

"SHIT! It's 11:40! We got twenty minutes!"

Sonic let himself go weak again.

"Well... _that_ was short lived..." Sonic said miserably. "If only we had a way to travel without moving..."

Both beings looked at each other as the same thought hit both their minds at the same moment. Sonic reached into his pocket and pulled out their ticket back to the movie theater.

"Thank you... Shadow..." Sonic said, looking at the black chaos emerald.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that," Tails joked, earning a grin from Sonic.

"Get my gun, Tails. Let's get the hell out of here."

Tails picked up Sonic's mighty Desert Eagle and stuffed it into his own pocket. Sonic then held up the emerald, attempting to teleport them, but try as he might, it wasn't working.

"Tails... I'm too weak... I don't think I can do it..."

As if on instinct, Tails held out his own hand and held onto the emerald along with Sonic.

"On three?" Tails asked.

"On three."

"1...2...3... **CHAOS CONTROL!**" they yelled in unison.

* * *

Chuck stood up in the now barren projector room, looking out over his movie theater. The entire room had been stripped of it's former glory. No longer did any posters, racks of old movie reels, projectors, and furniture fill the room. Now, only bits of rubbish and dust filled the room. Though Chuck still technically had twenty minutes before he was supposed to get out, the pain of looking at what was left was too much for him to deal with. Wiping a stray tear from his face, Chuck said a silent goodbye and left the projector room. Shutting the door, an eerie echoed filtered throughout the empty building as the door latched shut. Walking away from the door and down the dark staircase from the door, Chuck's footsteps almost mocked him as he descended the steps, thinking the most depressing thoughts as ever he had.

"_I tried so hard to keep this place up... and I got so far with it... but my pride has fallen... and I've lost everything... In the end... it doesn't even matter... I'm a failure... Nothing but a complete and utter-"_

A sudden flash lit up the staircase the the perimeter of the projection room door, followed by two thuds and grunts, one more heavy than the other.

"CHUCK! CHUCK, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Stumbling back up the staircase with a cross between surprise and curiosity, Chuck got back up to the projection room and threw open the door.

"Tails, Sonic, how on earth did you-- OH MY GOD!"

The sight before the old man nearly gave him a heart attack. Tails was on his hands and knees next to Sonic.The fox was drenched, looking like he'd been in a fight, and traces of blood stained his white muzzle. And then there was Sonic, also soaking wet, a hole in his chest that was leaking blood, and more blood on his clothing and face.

"What the hell happened!?" Chuck yelled, unable to keep his calm.

"Robotnik shot him! He doesn't have much time!"

"What about Robotnik!?"

"He's dead! But that doesn't matter! We gotta save Sonic!"

"Where's the emerald!?"

Tails paused for a moment. The pause told Chuck everything he needed to know.

"It's ...gone?..." Chuck said in disbelief.

"Completely destroyed... but we have this!" Tails said, holding up Shadow's black emerald.

"Tails... that might not work..."

"IT'S GOTTA WORK! IT'S JUST GOTTA!"

Suddenly, tears began running down Chuck face.

"Even if it would work... Everything is gone, Tails... Look..."

Sure enough, looking around, Tails' heart practically stopped. The movies, the projectors, everything they needed to save Sonic was gone. Tails' only reaction was to shut his eyes and quiver with frustration, grinding his teeth so hard it could be heard even with his mouth shut.

"No sweat, little buddy... you tried..."

"**NO!**" Tails roared, looking up. "**I'M NOT GIVING UP!"**

With unheard of strength and emerald in hand, Tails grabbed Sonic with both arms and hoisted them up into the air via his dual tails. Then, at speeds that could rival that of a hawk, the fox flew through the theater's corridors, racing towards the theater room where the screen was. The sound of the wind in Tails' ears drowned out Sonic's moans of pain and the calls of Chuck to wait up as the fox sped away. In record time, Tails reached the theater and laid Sonic down at the base of the screen.

"Alright Sonic, just focus everything you have on getting us back into your movie!" Tails said, giving the emerald to Sonic.

Grasping the emerald lightly, Sonic began to strain, trying to teleport or at least make something happen. When nothing happened, Tails grabbed the emerald along with Sonic and began straining with all his might.

"Come on... _come on_... **COME ON**! **WORK, DAMMIT! _WOOOOOORK!_**"

At that moment, Chuck finally caught up, panting and holding his chest.

"Tails, this isn't going to work! Let's just take Sonic to a hospital and we'll-"

"HE WON'T LAST THAT LONG! WE GOTTA MAKE THIS WORK! WE GOTTA-"

Sonic's hand suddenly fell away from the emerald and fell beside him.

"SONIC!?"

All the hedgehog did was mouth the fox's name. There were only seconds left. Tails let out a deafening roar of fury and began to punch the movie screen.

"**LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN, YOU MOTHER FUCKER! LET US IN _NOOOOOOOOOOOOW!_**"

A flash of light suddenly filtered out of the black emerald and a mysterious black aura formed around it. The gem lifted right up out of Tails' hands and levitated into the middle of the theater room. Then, the same blue electric sparks that used to come from the gold emerald shot out of the black emerald and started touching everything in the whole room. Tails, Chuck, and even Sonic, watched in awe as the mysterious arcs darted all across the movie screen. It looked like an image was trying to form on the screen. The screen showed an image of a hallway, though it was hard to make out what it was. Instinctively, Tails touched the screen with a single finger. His finger went right through, as if the screen weren't there, as little blue arcs formed around it. Looking back around at Chuck, the look on the fox's face told the old man all he needed to know.

"Go...now..." the old man mouthed.

Tails used all of his strength to hoist Sonic and the two of them tumbled through the screen, a painfully bright light blinding them as they did. It was impossible to tell if Sonic was alive or not.

* * *

Tails felt himself slam onto a hard, cold, stone floor. As the kitsune's senses came back to him, he could swear there was something familiar about where they were. The sounds, the smells, the voices, and the overall atmosphere, all seemed so familiar. Opening his eyes, Tails instantly recognized where they were. This was a hallway in the Station Square P.D. from the movie Sonic had come from. 

"We did it..." Tails said in barely a whisper. "We did it... Sonic?"

There was no answer form the hedgehog. Looking next to him, Sonic wasn't even around. For a split second, Tails thought that he might have not brought Sonic through with him somehow. But a grunt caught the fox's attention. Looking at the opposite side of the hall, Sonic had managed to prop his back up against the wall and sat with his hands holding his chest.

"Let me see you're wound!" Tails said, coming to the hedgehog's side.

Sonic took his hands away from his wound. It was still there, and there was still blood, yet it somehow seemed to not be as pronounced, nor did it seem to be draining Sonic of nearly as much of his strength. Of course, Sonic was still weak as he gripped his wound again while grimacing.

"Sonic! You're alright!"

"Ummmmmm... _nooo_... Last I checked, I still got a huge-ass hole in my chest..." Sonic said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Duuuuh, Sonic!?"

Both looked up to see Big, the far purple cat in his usual attire.

"Big! Sonic's been shot!" Tails shouted.

Like a little kid, Big slapped his cheeks with his hands and gasped.

"OOOOH NOOOO! SONIC! ARE YOU AWWIGHT!?"

"Just go get some help, Big! Move it!" Sonic ordered.

With a whimper of concern, the big cat rushed away, his huge feet making quiet a racket. Tails now looked back to Sonic, only to find the hedgehog was looking over at the wall behind them. Behind them both was a amoeba-like opening on the wall that showed a view back into the theater with blue electric arcs running around it. Very slowly, however, it was getting smaller and smaller.

"I think this is it..." Sonic said, in a tone hedging on sadness.

"What? No... you're going to be alright... You're gonna make it!"

"That's not what I mean..."

"Then what?"

"...Tails... this is where... we have to say goodbye..."

"WHAT!? No way!"

"Look," Sonic said, pointing at the closing portal. "You've got to back now, before you get stuck in here.

"I told you I wasn't going to leave you! Not until I know that you're alright!"

"You've done you have to... Please Tails, get going, before it's too late..."

Tears were starting to well up in the corners of the fox's eyes.

"I...I can't leave Sonic! You're my hero! My idol! My reason for believing in anything!"

"That's just it, Tails... I'm just an imaginary hero in an imaginary world. You have a real life, a real world, with real people. That's where you belong."

"Dammit, Sonic! Don't you get it!?" Tails said, getting eye level with his hero. "You're real to **_me_**! You've kept me going through all the hard times I've been through! You're the best thing... that's ever happened to me!... And... I need you be there for me!"

Tails couldn't hold back anymore. His muzzle began to drip with hot tears as he continued to deny leaving, all the while the opening was getting even smaller. Sonic grinned a little and once again ruffled the hair of his friend.

"I'll always be here for you, Tails. That's never going to change. And just like you need me to be here for you, I need you to be out there for me, to believe in me, to support me. And more importantly, I need you to be there for you mother," Sonic continued, making Tails perk his head up. "She's a good person, Tails, just like you. And just like you, she needs somebody to be there for her.And that person... is you, Tails... You have to be there for her."

The fox could only stare in silence, knowing it was the truth, but one that was hard to accept.

"You have your whole life ahead of you, little buddy. There are so many great things coming your way that you have to look forward to, like-"

"I know, I know, pimples, bad gas, and premature ejaculation, you told me all that already."

"I can't believe you remembered I said that," Sonic said, mustering a laugh.

Distant sirens were approaching outside, meaning that soon Sonic would have to leave, as would Tails. Looking over their shoulders, the opening was now just barely larger enough for somebody to get through if they walked through on their hands and knees. Facing each other again, Tails knew what Sonic was going to say before he said it.

"It's time, Tails. You'd better get going, before that passage closes."

All of the fox's sense told him to act, but he just couldn't do it. Knowing that Tails was sad to leave, Sonic thought of something he could say that might possibly cheer him up enough.

"Hey... it's alright, bud. Guess what? When I "met myself" back in that other theater, he told me that there's going to be a Sonic V. So, you'll see me again."

Tails did stop crying for a moment when he heard that, but continued to only cry harder afterwards.

"That just made things worse... didn't it?" Sonic asked, realizing his mistake.

"I'm never going to be with you like this again... It'll never going to be the same, Sonic... Never..."

Behind them, the portal was now even smaller, reaching a size that was almost impassible.

"Then let me say this now..."

Sonic put his right hand on Tails' shoulder. When the fox looked up he found himself looking at something he'd rarely ever seen. Sonic was crying.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Tails..."

Tails leaped forward and wrapped his arms around his hero. Sonic returned the favor with his free arm.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Sonic..."

Out in the main room of the H.Q., the sounds of voices and paramedics was drawing close.The two shared their last few moments together locked in their hug, both knowing that in a few seconds they would forever be separated. The size of the portal was now just big enough for a small person to get through if they jumped with their limps pulled up against their body. The two Mobians broke from each other, but continued to look at each other in the eyes for one last moment. Their eyes said what had to be said, and without another word, Tails made a run at the wall just before the portal disappeared and dove through the hole right back into a bright white void, one last time.


	31. I'm Here For You

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES**:

I can barely begin to say how truly sorry I am for having made you guys wait this long for this chapter. But this semester in college I have much more intense classes and therefore have had little to no time to work on my writing. \

Currently, I'm on a week-long vacation, so I'm giving you some long-overdue updates. In addition to this update, my other current story, "The Fastest Thief Alive," has been updated too. Check it out when you get a chance.

That being said, here at long last is chapter 31!

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**

**Chapter 31** – I'm Here For You

For a second, everything was white and there were sounds of rushing wind and electricity in Tails' ears. Then, just as soon as it began, everything went dark and the sensations stopped. Tails felt himself fall through the air as he passed into the real world. Temporarily blinded by the bright lights, Tails couldn't see and landed with a dull thud on the floor. Next to him, the fox heard footsteps.

"Tails?," Chuck asked, "are you alright?"

Tails slowly stood up, his head and ears hung low in sadness. His only response was a slight nod of his head.

"Tails! Look!"

Both turned to see an amazing sight. Though the portal that would allow somebody to go in and out of the different realities had closed, there was still an image being projected upon the movie screen. The two exchanged puzzled looks, then silently sat down in two of the remaining chairs in the theater.

On screen, Big, various cops, and a swarm paramedics and doctors rushed in around Sonic. For a period of time, it was total chaos. Then, a single voice became audible above all the others.

"Sonic... is this some kind of stupid joke? This is barely a flesh wound! I band aid will fix this for crying out loud!"

Cheers erupted as Sonic was lifted to his feet. As Tails and Chuck watched, sure enough, what was once a fatal wound was reduced to a mere cut in Sonic's skin back in the movie. On screen, Sonic got patched up and was released on scene, no hospital trip or ambulances needed. As Sonic paraded through the police headquarters, all the officers around clapped and cheered for the hedgehog. Unconsciously, Sonic strolled right past the office of a certain red echidna.

"**SOOOOOOOOOOOO_NIIIIIIIIIIIIC!_**"

Sonic stopped in his place and winced at the sudden roar from his boss. But by some miracle, the glass around the office didn't shatter.

"Get in here, Sonic! **NOW!**"

A smug grin crossed the hedgehog's lips and he nonchalantly walked into Knuckles' office.

"DAMMIT! Where the _hell_ have you been, Sonic!"

"I went to go see a movie," Sonic cracked.

Knuckles stood up out of his chair in rage.

"Is that so!? Well, I'm going to take a chunk out of your meager pay check for that! And to think I generously reinstated you on account that I need as many officers as I can get to keep the crime of this city under control! What do you have to say for yourself, Sonic!?"

Sonic coolly walked over to Knuckles and got right up in his face.

"**_SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT __UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!_**"

Knuckles recoiled back and stumbled into his chair. For the first time in history, the glass office shattered from a voice other than Knuckles'. Knuckles could only stare in disbelief.

"Knuckles, I don't give a damn about anything you just said! You know why!? Because it's all in a script! So is your insane yelling! And ya know what else? I'm in the script as the hero! And heroes get treated better than I've been! Starting now, we're making some changes! I don't wanna be a bad cop anymore! I don't want kill everybody and destroy everything! And I don't wanna have to live in a shitty apartment and drive a shitty car! And I don't want to have a poor record on my name, either!"

"Woah..." Tails said as he watched.

Sonic ranted on and on about all the things he did and didn't want. Since it was a movie, the screen did a fade transition to some time in the future. The future scene showed Sonic walking out of the police H.Q. with a whole new look. He had on a top-of-the-line black leather jacket, a white silk undershirt, the best designer blue jeans money could buy, a pair of red and white sneakers that easily cost a few thousand dollars, a giant gold Rolex watch, and a pair of polarized aviator sunglasses. Stepping out into the valet zone, Sonic stood waiting for his car to arrive. A moment later, the sound of a roaring V-12 engine made Sonic perk up. A Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster in the same shade of blue as Sonic with a white leather interior pulled up in front of him. The valet driver, who Sonic knew all to well, got out of the car and held the car's scissor-style door open for Sonic.

"Thank you for bringing me my car... Knuckles."

Knuckles scowled at the hedgehog as he got into the car and shut the door for him.

"Your welcome... Captain..." Knuckles mumbled.

Both Chuck and Tails's eyes widened when they heard that. But before they could wonder how Sonic had managed to become Captain and Knuckles a valet servant, the screen answered them.

"Are you still angry with me, Knuckles? After all, it's not like I demoted you to this position. You did it yourself"

"I just can't get over the fact that you were made Captain of the S.S.P.D., that your record was cleared of any wrong-doings, and you got a 300 percent pay raise. How could I not be pissed? I still say all of this isn't fair."

"But hey, look on the bright side. You still got a job, don't ya?"

"Yeah..." Knuckles mumbled.

"And you still got your health."

"Yeah..."

"And you got Rouge back."

Knuckles winced a little upon hearing that. It was because of her that he was no longer Captain . True, he'd gotten the love of his life back, but only after the truth about the fact that Knuckles had cheated on her other got out. Once it did, Knuckles resigned as Captain, too embarrassed to go on with his current job. Sonic, of course, backed Knuckles up, and in doing so, Rouge returned, feeling so sorry for what had happened. And due to the fact that the city needed a new Captain, Sonic was selected due to his popularity and the fact that everybody knew that he could get the job done.

"I still can't believe the truth about me and her got out, Sonic. But... at least I have you to thank for saving my ass from too much humiliation. You did back me up pretty well once the news got out. Sure, maybe you got all this cool stuff... But... I guess, in the end, I have somebody to love."

"See?," Sonic said, smiling, "Life's not so bad after all."

"I guess so."

"It is... _trust me_."

Sonic shifted his car into gear and got ready to go. Before he could, Knuckles returned and put his hand on the wheel to keep Sonic from leaving.

"Yes, Knuckles?" Sonic asked.

"There's just one thing I gotta know..."

"And that is?

"... When'd you change into the way you are now?"

Sonic pulled his sunglasses down just a bit and looked at the ex-Captain.

"A very wise kid I know told me that I was a bunch of shit, just like the world. At first I was offended, but when I thought about it, he was right. So, I decided it was time to make a change. Simple as that."

Knuckles released the wheel and stepped back.

"Have a nice day..." Knuckles said, a hint of sincerity in his voice.

"You too. Say hi to Rouge for me."

Knuckles nodded in response. With that, Sonic pushed his sunglasses back up and smashed the accelerator down, leaving Knuckles in a cloud of smoke from the spinning tires as he sped off. For a few minutes, the screen showed Sonic driving around town at very high speeds, but eventually he pulled up in front of a huge salon with a sign the read "Sonia's Beauty Boutique" and Sonic's sibling hopped into the convertible Lamborghini. After a short while longer, Sonic's car pulled up in front of a very familiar looking house.

"Tails... isn't that-" Chuck started.

"Vector's house. Yup."

It was true. Somehow or another, Sonic had come to own what was once Vector's house. Pulling up in front of the house, Sonic parked his Diablo next to two other cars. One was what used to be Vector's white Rolls Royce Phantom, the other was a red Ferrari 360. Tails was a bit confused as to why there were three cars, since there seemed to be only two people who lived at the house. A minute later however, Tails got his answer. After Sonia and Sonic proceeded to switch into their swim suits and went out back of the house to the huge pool, the third member of the house presented herself.

"Hi Sally," Sonic said.

"Hello Sonic," Sally said, plating a kiss on Sonic's lips.

"Get a room, you two," Sonia teased.

Tails couldn't believe it. It was the same girl Sonic had met in th movie store when he as with him. He watched as the two girls took to the pool while Sonic predictably took a seat next to it on a reclining beach chair. As the girls were enjoying themselves, the most unexpected thing happened yet. Somehow, Sonic looked over as if looking at Tails. The hedgehog raised his sunglasses and winked, then replaced his shades and leaned back in his chair. The screen then showed a distant panning shot of the house, then slowly began to fade, until ultimately, it went blank.

The moment the screen went dark, the electric sparks that were dancing around the theater ceased, then the emerald went dark and fell to the floor. Carefully, Chuck and Tails searched for the emerald among the rows of seats. Tails finally found it and picked it up. He and Chuck went back into the dimly lit corridor outside the theater room to examine it. They found it had lost it's shiny appearance and had turned a murky, foggy black color. Then, without warning, the emerald shattered into pieces and turned into glittering white dust which fell to the floor. With a heavy heart, Tails' shoulders slouched and he hung his head, knowing that he would never again be able to travel like he had into the movies. Feeling Chuck's hand on his shoulder, the fox looked up at the old man.

"We'd better get you cleaned up, Tails."

The tow of them went to the nearest bathroom. Tails washed the blood off of his muzzle while Chuck tried to dry the fox off as best he could with some old paper towels. The whole time neither spoke a word, both knowing that there really wasn't anything worth saying at this point. After a while, Tails decided he was clean enough and shut the water off.

"I think we should go, Tails. We're way past the time I was supposed to get out of here."

A nod was the fox's only response. Quietly, the two of them went to the theater's main power room and Chuck shut down the few remaining switched that were still on. Then they both exited through the front doors, which locked closed behind them. It had stopped raining now, but the night was still cold, damp, and raw. Both looked up at the theater one more time and said a silent goodbye to the theater, then walked off without looking back.

* * *

Chuck walked Tails back to his home where the kitsune's mother was no doubt worried sick about her son. Upon reaching the front door, Chuck knocked on the door. Beside him, Tails still looked miserable. Chuck knew that Tails was sad, so he tried to cheer him up before the door was answered. 

"Sonic's alright, Tails. You got him back and he survived. Hell, he even became rich! He's better off then he probably ever imagined he would be! And it's because of you that he has that!"

Tails only sighed. It seemed he was incorrigible after all had transpired tonight. Before Chuck could attempt to brighten the youth's mood, the door flew open next to them.

"MILES!," Tails' mom cried, scooping her son up in her arms.

Chuck went to walk away, hoping to avoid any type of confrontation with Rosemary. But the mother vixen noticed the old man before he could leave.

"May I ask... who you are?"

"My name... is Chuck. I work... well, worked, at the local movie theater."

Rosemary gave Chuck a strange look, somewhere between resentment and surprise at the same time.

"So you're the one that my son has been sneaking off to and watching movies with while he cut classes."

"...Yes..."

"... I really don't know what to say to you..."

"You don't have to say anything. I deserve you're anger, which I'm sure you have for me. I know what I did wasn't right. I just... wanted a friend... That's all... I promise from now on I'll leave Tails alone."

Chuck turned to leave, but Rosemary stopped him.

"...Thank you for bringing my son home."

Her voice as sincere. Chuck mustered a grin and shook hands with the parent.

"Just doing what I thought was right."

"I appreciate that. And so long as it's during appropriate times, you can see my son."

"Thank you... Well, I'll be on my way now."

Chuck ruffled the hair on Tails' head as a final gesture of friendliness.

"Take care, Tails."

Tails only nodded slightly. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, Chuck waved to Rosemary and left the home, walking off into the night. Rosemary walked her son into his room, perplexed as to why Tails was acting so depressed. Tails sat on the edge of his bed, ears drooped, shoulders slouched, and looking down at the floor. Wanting to find out what was wrong, Rosemary took a seat next to the young fox and put an arm around him.

"Miles?... Are you OK?"

"...Yeah... I'm OK..." Tails responded rather unemotionally.

"No you're not, Miles. Something is on your mind, isn't it?"

"...Yup..."

"Please tell me what's wrong. I'm here for you. You know that."

Taking a deep breath, Tails looked up at his mom.

"Me and Sonic... solved the case. We got the bad guys."

"Then why are you so sad? I'd be thrilled if I were you."

"It's... because I'm never going to see Sonic again."

Rosemary gasped slightly, a reaction Tails hadn't expected.

"Does this have anything to do with the attack on that movie theater tonight!? They found two people dead there!"

"It does... Those were the bad guys that Sonic was after..."

"But what about Sonic? Did he..."

"No... he survived. He did get hurt... Badly... But he's OK."

"Well... we'll just see him when he gets out of the hospital, then."

Tails knew he'd have to lie now, so he had to be convincing.

"Sonic... isn't from around here. He's part of... a special unit. One that most people don't even know about. So much so that he's constantly switching names and locations."

"So then... we're never going to see him again?"

Tails' response was to sigh and put his face in his hands. Rosemary gingerly rubbed her son's back, trying to comfort him.

"I know that you really liked Sonic, Miles... In the short time that I knew him I could see that he was a good person. But this is his job, honey. And I'm sure that he will always remember you and miss you, not to mentioned be grateful for all the help you gave him."

"I know, mom. I know... He told me... that he was going to miss me... right before I left him."

Rosemary gently embraced her son, knowing he needed a little bit of loving right now. When she did, however, Tails knew that his mom was a bit upset too. He knew all to well that she liked Sonic too. No doubt she viewed him as the older brother she'd always wished she could have had for Tails. As Rosemary hugged her son she only now realized just how damp his clothing was.

"Oh Miles, you're dripping wet! Come on, let's take these clothes off and dry you off."

Just as Tails started to take off his jacket he felt something fall from his pocket and then heard a loud thunk on the floor. Tails looked down to see a huge silver gun on the floor. Sonic's Desert Eagle. Tails realized he'd never given it back to Sonic before he left.

"Miles... what in God's name are you doing with a gun!?"

In a split second, Tails came up with an answer that he hoped would not sound like a lie.

"Oh... Sonic gave me that... to give to you. He said that he wanted us to have some way... to protect ourselves... Just in case, ya know?"

For a second, Tails thought his mom didn't believe him. But he was proven wrong when she picked up the gun and looked at it with genuine interest. Then, to Tails' disbelief, his mom ejected the bullet magazine, checked it's contents, reloaded the magazine, cocked the weapon like a professional.

"Mom?..."

"Yes, sweetie?" Rosemary said, clicking the gun's safety switch on.

"Where... did you learn that?"

Rosemary only winked at her son, then took the gun and the damp clothes out of the room. Tails sat bewildered not only that he now had the gun that Sonic was famous for, but also at what he'd just seen his mom do.

"_Sonic... you taught her that, didn't you?..." _the kitsune thought, smiling to himself a little

A moment later Rosemary returned to the room.

"It's getting late Tails. You should get some sleep, OK?"

Tails nodded and got under his covers. But just as his mom went to leave, he sprang back up.

"Mom, wait! I... gotta tell you something!"

The mother fox came back into the bedroom and sat down next to her child.

"Yes, dear?"

"...Mom... I'm sorry..."

"...For what?..."

"...For...everything... I've been a real pain for too long now... And I'm sorry..."

"Oh Miles, it's-"

"Let me finish... Mom... if there's one thing I learned with hanging out with Sonic... it's that I was on a path that would end in disaster... Hanging with him... I've gained a new way of looking at things... I need to be a better person... No more cutting classes and not doing homework... No more going to the movies when I shouldn't and no more bad language... But most of all, mom... You've always been here for me... but... I've never returned the favor... So, from now on, I promise... I'm going to be here for you mom, no matter what... because you deserve that... "

Rosemary's eyes swelled with tears at her son's moving speech. Her eyes met with Tails', whose eyes were also welled up. Unable to hold back any longer, the two of them locked into a tight hug. Tails rested his head on his mother's should and sobbed into it. Rosemary nuzzled her son's ears with he snout while her tears rained down onto his head.

"I love you mom..."

"I love you too, Miles..."

* * *

I hope that this chapter wasn't too corny or predictable. This story should have been finished months ago. I'm so eager to get started on something new that I really just wanna get this one done. This was the first idea I came up with for this chapter, so I hope it goes over well with you. 

Lastly, I'd like to say that there's officially only one chapter left. It'll be a short one as it's only an Epilogue, but I think you'll enjoy it. I'll try to get that up as soon as possible.

And as always, comments and suggestions are welcome!


	32. The Next Adventure

**Author's Notes:**

I can hardly believe it, but here we are. Exactly one year later I'm posting the very last chapter of Last Action Hedgehog.

I'd like to mention that if anybody goes to see the real movie after reading this you'll find this chapter isn't in the movie. It might be a little too sappy, but I had to do it. For one, I felt the real movie ended a little too suddenly. There is another reason I made this chapter, but I'll save that for the end notes.

Well anyway, here it is my fans! The final chapter of Last Action Hedgehog!

* * *

**Chapter 32** –The Next Adventure

A year had passed. The old movie theater had long since been torn down, but Tails and Chuck still kept in touch. Overall, life in the Prower residence was much better. Rosemary was more upbeat these days. She spent much more time with her son and had an overall deeper appreciation for her life and her son's. Tails had also become much the same way as his mother. He was a happy, out-going, devoted fox these days. Currently, Tails sat on his bed, scribbling away furiously on some homework he had.

"Miles? Are you almost done your homework? She's going to be here any minute!"

In his room, Tails growled under his breath at his mother's nagging.

"Mom! You've asked me that question ten times already! I'm never going to get done if you keep bothering me."

Rosemary walked into her son's room to check on him.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I just know how much you've been looking forward to this day and I don't want you to miss it."

"But you don't want me to lose my straight A report card, do you? You know how hard I've been working to keep it, after all."

"Of course I know, sweetheart. And I'm so proud that you've been getting such good grades," Rosemary said, planting a small kiss on her son's head.

"Aw shucks mom," Tails said, blushing slightly.

At that moment, there was a knock on the front door.

"Oh! That must be her!" the mom said.

"Perfect timing. Just finished," Tails said, putting his pen down and closing his notebook.

Rosemary hurried to the front door while Tails combed his bangs to make them nice and neat. He then slipped on his favorite white and black jacket, the very same one he'd worn the night he'd had the adventure of his life. In fact, Tails dressed in the exact same way he had that night he'd had the adventure of his life. Just as the fox finished tying his shoelaces he heard two voices come into the house.

"Miles! Are you ready?"

"Yup! I'm... I'm coming!"

For some reason, a sudden wave of nervousness swept over him and he found his legs feeling jelly-like.

_"Come on, Tails... Get it together!... You've played chicken with nothing more than a bicycle, you've survived a fall from a building, and you blew away Eggman! It's just a date!... RELAX!" _the fox argued in his head.

"MILES! It's not appropriate to keep a lady waiting!"

"Alright already! I'm coming!"

Taking a deep breath, Tails stepped out of his room and walked into the living room. His ears burned red hot and he knew he was blushing against his will. The fox couldn't help but look down a bit to conceal his face.

"Aw, Miles! You look like such a gentleman!" Rosemary said.

Tails was so embarrassed that he was looking straight down at the floor. Two other female voices began to giggle at his actions.

"You really do look handsome, Miles," said an older female voice.

A younger female voice giggled happily, prompting Tails to continue looking down at his feet.

"Well Tails? Are you going to stare at your shoes, or are you going to say hello?" Rosemary pressed.

Tails took a deep breath and prepared to do the inevitable.

"H...hi... Cream."

Tails looked up into the gorgeous brown eyes of a tan lop-eared bunny that he'd developed a serious crush on. She was wearing a petite little orange skirt with shoes to match, a blue ribbon tied around her collar, and a smile that could melt the heart of any young boy.

"About time, Tails!" Cream said, hugging the now crimson-faced fox.

The two parents in the room awed at the site before them. Tails wished that he could just vanish right now to save him the embarrassment. And yet, he found himself hugging the little girl before him, an overwhelming sense of comfort flowing through him as he did. He'd never felt such a feeling before and couldn't quiet tell what it was. Even more to Tails' surprise, when the two of them separated from their embrace, Tails caught a glimpse of blush on Cream's white muzzle. Cream knew Tails had seen it and wanted to turn away, but instead found herself looking into the aquamarine iris' of the young fox in front of her. They only looked at each other for a second, and yet that second felt like an hour. Something deep within each of their eyes was trying to say something.

"Oh geez, look at the time!" exclaimed Rosemary. "If we don't get you two going right now, you'll miss it!"

"We'd better get going, then," Vanilla suggested.

The two adults gathered their belongings and made for the door. Meanwhile, Tails and Cream stood transfixed in each other's gaze. Unconsciously, their faces were drawing nearer, their eyes never swaying away.

"Come on, you two!" Rosemary called.

Both youths looked away to their parents, who motioned for them to it was time to go. The two of them followed, but not before giving each other a quick, curious look, as neither could fully understand what had just happened to them.

* * *

A short while later found a Volvo station wagon pulling up to a mall. Tails and Cream hurried out of the car and began dashing through the parking lot.

"Tails! Get back here!"

"If we don't hurry we'll be too late, mom! Don't worry! We'll be careful!"

Not wanting to waste another minute, the two youths high-tailed it into the mall, weaving their way through crowds of people and dodging oncoming objects to get to where they were going.

"Tails! I don't think we're going to make it!" Cream shouted.

"We'll make it!"

"Not if we keep on our feet!"

"Then let's fly!"

Tails spun his twin-propeller tails and Cream flopped her giant lop ears and both of them took off above the crowd and moved at a rate faster than before. Finally, they reached the other end of the mall and landed in front of where they were going. In front of them was a giant movie theater, in front of which was a giant opening day display of a blue hedgehog with a huge sign reading:

"**SONIC THE HEDGEHOG V**"

Tails was mesmerized by the giant display before him, but Cream had her eyes on the mile long lines leading into the theater.

"Tails, look! The movie starts in just a few minutes and we don't have our tickets yet!"

Tails looked over at Cream with a confident grin on his face.

"We don't need to get em."

"What?"

"Shhh! I've got a connection here."

"What do you mean?"

"Just follow me."

The duo made their way off to the side of the theater and down a service corridor to a side entrance. Tails checked his watch and after a few moments of waiting, tapped the first half of "Shave & a Haircut" on the service entrance.

"Tails?"

"Yeah?" the fox said, repeating his knocking pattern on the odor.

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for doing this?"

"..._Trust me_..."

Tails repeated the knock once more. This time it was answered with the second half of "Shave & a Haircut" and opened.

"You're late, Tails. Again."

"Sorry Chuck."

The old man only smiled and invited the two of them in. Cream stayed silent as they stealthily made their way up a series of staircases until they made it to the projection room.

"Wow!... I've never been in a projection room before!" Cream said excitedly.

Tails and Chuck laughed at the little girl's response. Cream didn't understand, however, why Tails wasn't as excited.

"How come you're not excited, Tails?"

"Well... let's just say in a... previous life, I guess you could call it... Chuck and I spent a lot of time together in the theater he used to work at... I've been in a projector room more times than I can count," Tails said, rubbing the back of his head.

"So _that's _why you always missed so many classes before!"

"Yeah... but that's all in the past now. I don't do that anymore. Skipping classes, that is."

To Tails' surprise, Cream walked over and hugged him.

"And I'm so glad you don't do that anymore. It's nice having you around."

Tails blushed a deep crimson at the rabbit's sudden display of affection. Looking up at Chuck, Tails found the old man looking at him with a smug grin on his face. Cream finally let go off Tails and faced the movie projectionist.

"Umm... pardon me for asking... but... will we get in trouble for this?"

"Heheh... Nope..."

"But how? We never bought tickets!"

Chuck held up two movie ticket stubs.

"I know the owner of this theater. He's a long time friend of mine. I managed to convince him to let me buy these for you so two seats could be reserved for you. You're seats are the best in the theater. Don't worry. It's all legit."

"Oh thank you, Mr. Chuck!" Cream squeaked, jumping forward and shaking the man's hand.

"You're quite welcome. I think you'll be needing these, then."

Tails and Cream nodded and took the ticket stubs. Chuck then pulled a reel-to-reel off of a rack with a "Sonic the Hedgehog V" insignia on it. A smile radiated across Tails' lips when he saw this.

"It's time. You'd better go find your seats."

The youths took the advice and used a rear service entrance to the jam-packed theater.

"Tails... where should we sit?" Cream whispered.

In the darkness Tails spotted two seats with a mound candy, soda, and popcorn piled on them. Looking back up where the movie projector was, Tails gave Chuck a thumbs up, which he received in return.The two of them took their seats and piled their treats on their laps and armrests.

"Mr. Chuck sure is nice." Cream commented.

"You could say that again."

"Tails, could you pass me some of the popcorn?"

As Tails reached for the tub of popcorn, Cream simultaneously reached for her soda. As a result, their two hands collided and locked. Despite the darkness of the theater, both of them could tell the other was blushing. Once again, some unknown force started to pull their faces ever closer. At about an inch apart, the theater suddenly went pitch black. In the darkness, Tails had no idea now how far away Cream was. Then a sudden explosion of feeling and warmth rocketed through Tails starting at his lips. The sensation made all of his hair stand on end and he felt the jolt shoot straight down his spine and into every nook and cranny of his figure. He stayed like this for a moment, both thoroughly enjoying yet being immensely shocked by the new experience. Then, almost as soon as it began, the feeling was gone. On screen a very slight light was projected, just enough for Tails to catch a glimpse of Cream. The rabbit's eyes opened, her eyelashes brushing his own because they were both so close to each other. In the near darkness Tails could see Cream's dark brown eyes piercing into his light blue ones. Then the inevitable happened.

"I... love you... Cream..."

The whisper was quieter than a feather falling on a bed, but Cream's sensitive ears detected it.

"I love you... Tails..."

For what felt like an eternity passed as each looked into the universe in the other's eyes. Then a flash of light pierced their retinas as an explosion rocked the theater. On screen, a huge ball of flames lit the theater up orange-red as the words "Sonic the Hedgehog V" materialized out of the inferno.

"Tails... this movie isn't going to be... _too _violent... is it?

Tails only smiled at his date. He knew Sonic all too well and therefore knew just what was going to happen. But to comfort Cream, he daring took the rabbit's hand in his own. A slight chill ran through him as he felt is new love return the grip. What was already going to be a great movie just got even better.

* * *

A little over two hours later a mass of people came flooding out of the theater. Among them were the two mobians lucky enough to get in for free.

"That was cool beyond words!" Tails squealed with excitement. "What did you think, Cream?"

The young rabbit seemed reluctant to answer.

"Cream?..."

"Well... I..."

"Are you OK?" Tails asked, stopping his date.

"... That was a little too violent for me, Tails..."

Tails lowered his head a bit, feeling ashamed for what he'd done.

"... I'm sorry Cream... I guess I've still got a lot to learn about relationships... I shoulda picked a better movie for the both of us..."

Cream unexpectedly took both of Tails' hands in hers.

"I never said I was angry, Tails. It just wasn't my kind of movie. But I still had fun watching it because I was with you, and that's what's important."

A sincere grin formed on Cream's lips. Seeing her smile like that brought his spirits up. But suddenly, everybody that was in the area began pushing and rushing in the same direction, a wave of cheers and shouts erupting as this occurred. Tails and Cream found themselves pushed along by the front of this tidal wave. Finally, the mad rush stopped outside, everybody around still shouting excitedly.

"Tails! What's going on!?" Cream cried.

"I have no idea! But with how everybody is acting, you'd think that--"

Tails couldn't even finish the sentence. The two of them found themselves standing right in front of a blue hedgehog dressed in an all-too-familiar attire. Both youths were frozen to their spots when they made eye contact with the movie star in front of them.

"Tails... isn't that?..."

"S...Sonic?"

"That's my name!"

The blue hedgehog looked down at the youths, his signature smirk on his lips.

"How's it going?"

It was a simple question, and yet neither of the young Mobians could find the ability to talk. The kids nodded thier heads in unison, almost as if they were hypnotized.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Silence was the only answer they could muster, but their eyes told Sonic that they had had a good time so far and were having an even better time now. Sonic knelt down so he could be more level with the two fans before him.

"This is just a guess... but this guy over here brought you to see this on a date?"

"Yes Mr. Sonic! He sure did!"

"Oh geez! What's this Mr stuff? Call me Sonic, OK sweetie?"

"Oh... okay Sonic..."

By about now Cream was getting over the initial shock of meeting a movie star in person. Tails, however, was still in a trance, and Sonic knew it.

"Heh! I'll tell ya, big guy, if you're this psyched about meeting me, I can't imagine how you reacted when you met your girl here."

Cream smiled smugly at Tails, knowing she could have some fun with him now.

"Yeah... remember what you said when you first met me, Tails?"

"Umm... no?..."

Both Sonic and Cream slapped their heads at Tails blushed a deep crimson.

"He's new to this, isn't he?"

"It's our first date."

"Heheheh... the first time's always the scariest. Don't worry, though. It'll only get better from here. Well, before I go, got anything you want me to sign real quick?"

In a flash, both kids held out their movie ticket stubs. Sonic took out a thin-point marker and autographed both tickets in a flash.

"There ya go," the hedgehog said, handing the tickets back.

Cream and Tails were enthralled at their new collectors items. Their bright-eyed and bushy-tailed looks told Sonic all he had to know. With a smile and a wave, Sonic began to walk away.

"Sonic! Wait!"

Sonic turned around in curiosity.

"It's good to see you again, Sonic..." Tails said, holding out his hand.

Sonic laughed and shook the fox's hand.

"Thanks, bud. Glad you enjoyed the movie."

"I did... so much... Just... awesome... seeing you again... Never thought... I'd get to see you again..."

Sonic chuckled and Tails' seemingly incoherent speech.

"What was your name, sweetie?"

"Cream."

"Well Cream, I think I'll leave Tails to you. I'm afraid if I hang out any longer he's gonna pass out from meeting me. And I think I'll also get mobbed by these fans if I don't get going."

"Okay. Thank you Mr... I mean, Sonic, for the autographs. We'll take good care of them."

"No problem. Take care, Cream. See ya later, Tails."

Sonic quickly ruffled the hair on Tails' head, then vanished into the mob of fans. Tails touched his head and felt his hair, hardly believing what had just happened. Tails acknowledged a tugging on his arm, but only barely.

"Tails... what did you mean by it was great to see him _again_?"

"I..."

"Did you mean it was great to see him on screen again?"

"Uh-huh..."

"I guess now I understand how much you love these movies."

"Yeah..."

It was funny, but only Tails knew what he truly meant. Of course Tails was glad to see Sonic on screen again. But being able to see him in person again, even if it was the real-world version, was beyond his wildest dreams. He couldn't help but smile at this thought. He'd gotten to see Sonic, however brief, once again, and he couldn't contain his happiness over it.

"Come on, Tails. Our moms are coming."

Slowly, Tails turned away from where his idol had gone and faced Vanilla's approaching station wagon. When it arrived, both Tails and Cream got into the back seat.

"What's with the large crowd, darling?" Rosemary asked.

Tails was too lost in his thoughts to answer. With a sigh of frustration, Cream answered.

"Sonic the Hedgehog was here. He signed out movie stubs and shook Tails hand."

Both parents looked around in amazement.

"Oh my! You're both so lucky!" Vanilla stated.

"I'll bet those stubs will be worth something some day!" Rosemary added.

"Here, look!"

Cream held out her stub with Sonic's unique style of handwriting on it.

"We'll have to get frames for these," Vanilla said as they started driving away.

"Give them both to me. I'll hold onto them until we get home so they don't get damaged," Rosemary added.

Cream pulled Tails' ticket out of his loose grip and gave them to Rosemary. As they began to pull away, the fox caught a glimpse of a familiar old man. Amongst the crowd Chuck approached the car. The station wagon came to a stop and the passenger side windows went down.

"Hello again, Mrs. Prower."

"Hello Chuck. Vanilla, this is Tails' friend. He's been in the film business for many years.'

"How do you do, sir. I guess by now you've met my daughter."

"I have. How did you enjoy the movie, Cream?"

"Well... it was... a bit intense... but I had fun because I was with Tails."

Both mothers awed at the comment and Chuck smiled. Tails felt about an inch tall at the sudden flood of attention.

"I'm sure I don't have to ask if _you _enjoyed, Tails."

Tails nodded slowly.

"Still in a state of disbelief over meeting Sonic, are we?"

Once again the fox nodded.

"Well, I guess this is always a day you'll remember, for more than on reason. And on that note, I must get back to work. Good day."

A round of farewells sent Chuck and the station wagon on their separate ways. Pulling onto the main road, Tails still wasn't out of his daydream. That was, at least, until he felt a warm mass move against him. Looking over, he found that Cream had slid over and was lying against him. A quick look at her told him she was snuggling, and within seconds, she'd wrapped her arms around him, shut her eyes, and sunk into a nap. Tails' left arm went around the rabbit's side, followed by both of his tails, wrapping them in a warm mass. Tails gently laid his own head against hers and with his right hand he gave her head a slow stroke, earning him a tighter grip. He grabbed his own left hand to complete the embrace and shut his owns eyes.

_"You weren't kidding when you said I had my whole life to look forward to, were you Sonic?..." _Tails thought to himself._  
_

"Tails? You don't mind if we make a quick stop at the craft store for some picture frames for those tickets, do you?" Rosemary asked as they stopped at a red light.

When her son didn't answer, Tails' mom looked around. When she saw the sight in the back seat, she tapped Vanilla to make her look. The parents stifled squeals of joy as they saw their children in such an adorable pose. Tails cracked an eyelid and saw the mothers smiling and communicating silently. Sure it was embarrassing, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he was happy, and that's all that mattered. And if all went well, Cream would be happy with him as well. Knowing all of this, Tails couldn't help but think of one thing.

_"Not bad for a first date... Not bad at all... But... where's it gonna go from here?... I don't know... But it's okay... I don't want to know... All I do know is... this next adventure... with Cream... IS GONNA KICK ASS!"_

* * *

**FIN**

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to Princess Lady. Thanks for using my OC character so well.**

* * *

I'm going to confess something right now. I had planned on stopping this story late last summer because I was bored with it and had much better ideas I wanted to work on. Not only that, but by all accounts, this story has been and still is a mess. Yet here were are now, a year to the day when I posted the first chapter, and I've finished the story. What kept me going?

**MY FANS.**

You guys and gals have been the best. I can't believe this story got as much attention as it did. I thought that I'd only have two or three reviews on it by the time I got a few chapters in. Man was I wrong! You're kind words and helping advice made this story possible. Because this is my first story, I'd like to take a moment now and acknowledge each and every one of you:

**Princess Lady**: It has given me great pleasure to have you follow this story. Whenever you told me that a certain line or scene made you laugh brought so much joy to me. Thanks for reading.

**Amras Felagund**: Mike, can you believe I started this when you and me were still high school seniors? And now, here we are, just about to finish out first years of college. Anyway, thanks for reading. You've helped correct some of my big blunders in htis story more times than I can count.

**Kilatails**: You were one of my earliest followers. Thanks for hangin' on this long.

**Spencer Serra**: Dude, you've been a big help too. Having a reader who's actually seen the movie before was an element I'd been waiting for since I started. Nice to have had you as a reader.

**Swekyde**: Another long-time follower. Thanks for hangin' on this long. Don't know how you made it through this crazy story, but ya did. Thanks.

**Dream Theater**: I must be doing something right because you loved this story and you love the other I'm working on. Thanks for being an avid fan.

**Nicend**: Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate them.

**Tyler the Kitsune**: Thanks for being a fan.

**Tazkol the Master of Emeralds**: Another who saw the movie and read my story. Thanks for reading! You're reviews were especially helpful.

**Eric Neo Matrix**: Thanks for reading, Eric. Appreciate the help.

**Green Raccoon**: One of my first three reviewers. Kudos to you!

**Kitsune Demon**: Katie, it's because of you I even came to know of the site. I can't thank you enough for telling me about Fan Fiction. It's given me a hobby I truly enjoy.

* * *

Well... I guess that's it... I don't believe it... I really don't. It's done. It's really done. My first ever fan fiction, a creation a year in the making, is now complete. I've gotten so much better at writing over the course of this story and I've developed some pretty cool ideas I hope to be able to start work on in the near future. What I'd like to do now is give y'all a quick overview of what I'm doing and hopefully plan to do from here:

- I apologize for my lack of updating on "The Fastest Thief Alive." All I can say is that this semester of college has been grueling. I have, however, been planning what will happen, that way when I do get chance to start updating again, hopefully I'll be able to do it a bit faster.

- For almost a year now I've been planning a Tailsmo fic. I love this couple with all my heart and I've wanted to write a story that pertained to them. I've got the idea fairly developed, but it still need a little more planning. I hope to start it in the near future.

- I also have planned a Sonic X, season 4. I've got some killer ideas for this story and it's very far along in it's planning. Just a bit more tweaking and I think I can draft out how the chapters will go and then hopefully I'll start it over the summer.

- I've alreadt told a few of you about this, but here's an idea I need all the suggestions I can get. I'm sure most of us have heard of the show/movie "Jackass" before. Well, I want to start a collection of the Sonic characters doing all sorts of stunts similar to what you'd see in those movies and shows. What I need from you guys are any ideas for stunts/skits they could do as well as a good title for the story. If you have any ideas please send them to me via P.M.

- I'm trying to develop stories for both of my OC characters, but these aren't very far along. Don't expect these for a while, unless I get a sudden idea splurge.

I'd like to note that any updates will most likely start back up in about a month. Between college work, events I'm attending and college finals that are coming up, this month is pretty much booked for me. Once I'm on summer break in early May I'll be much more free to work. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this story and that you all will keep visiting my profile as new stuff comes along. Thank you all so much, and I'll see ya next time.

**KEEP ON ROCKIN' AND A ROLLIN'!  
**


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